RuneScape is a game we're heavily committed to and one that continues to have a long future ahead of it.
Over the past few months, we've been intensely working to build a better future for the game through fundamental changes in the way we approach development - changes that prioritize player involvement in our development, in how we uphold a monthly schedule of content releases and in how we empower our developers to make the best content possible.
Thank you to every 'Scaper for your patience as we put the pieces in place. Now we're finally ready to unveil our Rest of Year Roadmap!
Prefer to watch the reveal? Check out the Livestream VOD below.
New Mode: Group Ironman
Yes it's true - Group Ironman is coming later this year!
10 years on from the launch of Ironman Mode, we're excited to launch a brand new way to experience Ironman. We think it's an incredible way to re-experience RuneScape with your friends, or maybe even introduce some new ones to the game, and we can't wait to see the stories that come out of it.
Ironman is a version of RuneScape where everything has to be earned with your own blood, sweat and tears - that means no Grand Exchange or player trading, no Treasure Hunter, reduced access to XP benefitting boosts and a whole lot more.
Group Ironman takes that experience and makes it social. You'll still be subject to a lot of the same restrictions, but within your group, you'll gain a lot more freedom than a standard Ironman. Within your Group Ironman friend group, you'll have access to a shared storage, gain the ability to trade with one another and - if you're the competitive type - compete for glory on the Group Ironman leaderboards!
So when can you get your hands on this exciting new mode? Stay tuned for a confirmed release date at RuneFest 2024.
New Boss Dungeon: Sanctum of Rebirth
Sanctum of Rebirth is a new spin on Elite Dungeons coming this July!
In this new Boss Dungeon experience, 1-4 players can delve into the Sanctum to take on three unique bosses across either Normal or Hard difficulty levels. Sanctum of Rebirth takes the Elite Dungeon experience and focuses it down to just the bosses, cutting out the areas packed with mobs to traverse - though you'll still get a breather and some rewards between each of the fights, we're not monsters!
Clearing the Sanctum will be your route to the brand new T95 Magic Dual Wield weapons, and for those amongst you able to conquer its biggest challenges, you may even get access to a new upgrade item to push weapons past T95.
As part of our work to develop content more closely with the community, we'll be looking to you to help define this new combat encounter - from getting your take on a new death/revive mechanic for this Dungeon, through to a Beta World Playtest for potential T95 weapon reward designs. Next week we'll reveal how you can get involved!
New Skilling Boss
RuneScape's second skilling boss is on the way, playable solo or as a group!
This new skilling boss will be directly tied into the Sanctum of Rebirth and the main storyline, with an accompanying story quest.
Our design for the encounter and rewards is still in early stage development right now, so let us know what you'd love to see! As our initial designs come together, we'll be bringing you into the project to get your take on some of our new concepts - especially when it comes to our reward system.
New Story Quests
The next chapters in our main storyline - which we now refer to as 'story quests' - will arrive this year with two new quests!
Both story quests will follow on from the events established in Requiem for A Dragon and progress our new storyline. Our first quest will tie directly into our next skilling boss, taking you into the Sanctum of Rebirth to uncover some new mysteries. The second quest will progress the storyline further, and we'll be paying attention to your feedback on the storyline as we craft our next adventures!
Skilling Updates
Skills are at the heart of RuneScape. You wear your hard-earned Skill Capes with pride, and so we're rewarding your efforts with new content updates that expand on what high-level skills can offer.
Our first two updates in this vein arrive in 2024 with Mining and Smithing followed by Woodcutting and Fletching. In both updates, we'll be introducing new resources to acquire, new skilling equipment to earn, and new powerful items to create - a great excuse to revisit your favourite skills! We're making sure we can deliver these updates regularly across a variety of skills, so our current plans don't include alternative training methods or reworks.
Our Mining and Smithing update will introduce Daemonheim Mining, allowing you to mine Daemonheim ores on the surface world for the first time. With your ores converted to Primal Bars, you'll be able to craft Primal Armour and Equipment - and even create a brand new Masterwork Weapon. We'll also introduce a new top-tier Pickaxe.
Beyond the new Skilling content, there's also plenty for us to consider in how we add this new content to the Skills. To make sure we're adding content with real value to Skillers, we'll be consulting with the community on our plans later this month.
New Archaeology Dig Site: Daemonheim
Uncover the history of the Dragonkin's presence at Daemonheim in a new Archaeology Dig Site, releasing this June!
This new mini-Dig Site is set across the surface of Daemonheim and a new location deep below, with new content for levels 73-87 and 103-113. Expect multiple new mysteries, new collections, new artefacts and a brand new Relic Power to earn as you uncover forgotten Dragonkin lore.
Oh and since you'll be spending some time on the surface of Daemonheim, we're making sure to give the area a hefty graphical update too. Stay tuned for a first look closer to release.
New Boss: Osseous
Osseous is a new mid-level boss encounter releasing on May 28th!
This fourth Rex Matriarch expands on the deadly dinos released in 2021. The Rex Matriarchs were originally introduced as a more challenging version of the Dagannoth Kings experience - where each Dagannoth King is weak to a particular style and highly resistant to the others.
With the arrival of Necromancy, a new skeletal Rex Matriarch has risen: Osseous. Like the other Matriarchs, she's only weak to one style - in this case Necromancy - and highly resistant to all others. In a short quest, you'll team up with an archaeologist to discover her lair, and start putting your new Necromantic powers to use. Who knows, you might even find a powerful Necromancy Combat Ring in the process...
We'll give you a full look at Osseous on May 22nd. See you there!
Seasonal Events
We know Seasonal Events are near and dear to many of you, as long as it's in balance with permanent content releases.
We're delighted to share that we still plan to cook up a brand new Halloween event this year. This new Halloween event will hit many of the notes you've loved about Christmas and Easter - a new Seasonal Hub and quest, memorable characters and plenty of rewards. To make sure we can deliver this alongside other permanent content, we do expect this event to be a little smaller in scale, but with plenty of room for future iteration.
Speaking of which, our intention with our Seasonal Hubs is to make them events we can iterate on much more easily in future around our usual content work. Each year, you can expect a new seasonal quest, a new activity or two and some new rewards - which means you can expect all those new additions to Christmas Village 2024 this December, too!
Shaping The Future Roadmap
Let's talk 2025 and beyond. Yes, we know, we only just gave you a look at the rest of 2024! However, there's an important part of our future we haven't yet discussed... you!
We're launching the 2024 RuneScape Player Survey, which is all about bringing your voice into our Roadmap design process. Through the questions in this survey you'll play a key part in shaping our 2025 Roadmap, as well as influencing some of the design decisions we'll make for this year's content. We're so excited to approach a Roadmap that brings your perspectives in at the ground floor of planning, and we hope you are too.
To get involved in the survey, click the big button below. It'll take around 15 - 30 minutes, but by the end, you'll have played a key part in making sure RuneScape's future content is guided by players. Thank you for your time and energy, as always!
A Final Word from Mod Markos
Hey everyone, I'm Mod Markos. For the last couple of years I’ve been Executive Producer for Old School RuneScape - and I’ve recently also begun working on RuneScape too.
This Roadmap is a result of months of hard work from the RuneScape team to really set a clear path forward, putting the pieces in place to develop content in a way that involves players while ensuring we release meaningful updates every single month. I hope that comes through in what we’ve shown you today.
I’ve worked at Jagex for many years and actually started out on the RuneScape team. I want to see RuneScape thriving for many years to come. I’m ambitious for the game in the same way I was when I started working on Old School, but I realise that delivery is much more important than saying the right thing. It’s down to myself and the team to get back into the groove of consistently delivering excellent content.
I would love for you to join me and Mod Hooli on a Discord Stage this Friday at 15:30 Game Time to hear more about what's been going on at the studio. We'll be sitting down to discuss all the work that's been going on these past few months, how we're applying a player-involved development future in a RuneScape-specific way, and the vision we have for the many years ahead of us. I hope you'll drop by to listen in, ask some questions and hopefully walk away with a lot more answers!
Thank you for your incredible support. I'm looking forward to the stories you'll tell with this content, and to meet many of you in person at RuneFest later this year.
Hey, you made it to the bottom! Thanks so much for reading. On behalf of all of us on the RuneScape team, we really hope you love what we're cooking up. See you in Gielinor!
Mods Astar, Azanna, Bakzinga, Balkan, Bam, Boko, Blkwitch, Breezy, Camel, Chaose, Dark, Daze, Desert, Doom, Dorn, Dragon, Drew, Drewid, Echo, Fallen, Forza, Fowl, Frosch, Fox, Grace, Helen, Hooli, Ink, Jack, Keyser, Kitsune, Kristy, Luma, Lunatear, Lykos, Lynx, Morty, MIC, Muse, Nemo, Neong, Nixon, Noms, Pebble, Pearce, Phoenix, Pigeon, Rain, Ramen, Ryan, Sakura, Shrew, Shrike, Skyefall, Soul, Sponge, Spyro, Stead, Stu, Sukotto, Taelae, Tiger, Timbo, Titus, Toebeans, Tri, Vegard, Volta, Who, Wov & Yuey