RuneScape 3 launches: World's most popular free-to-play MMO comes of age
RuneScape 3, the third revision of the world’s most popular free-to-play MMORPG, has launched online. Giving the game a significant graphical overhaul and introducing a revised user interface, it’s the most ambitious update to the game yet, which first launched back in 2001.
As well as the new-look and quest content, RuneScape 3 will introduce “player-driven dynamic events”, giving the playerbase the chance to shape the global storyline of RuneScape’s virtual world.
The latest overhaul also paves the way for play on mobile and tablet devices, which is in development currently
“The RuneScape 3 development team has worked tirelessly to delight our community with this significant upgrade,” Mark Gerhard, CEO of Jagex, stated.
“The Jagex team and I are truly honoured to be able to be part of this formative occasion and to provide our cherished community, past and present, the RuneScape update of a decade. Married to the concept of our players determining the future of RuneScape, we believe RuneScape 3 is the most ambitious game ever launched on this cutting-edge future technology and lays the foundation for our upcoming expansion onto tablets.
“Since launch, more than 220 million RuneScape player accounts have been created, we’ve developed 12 years of regular content, and the game is still growing. With the launch of RuneScape 3 we are looking forward to welcoming new and old players alike back to the magical world of Gielinor.”
It’s been a long time since I played RuneScape (stealing away many a lunch time with my pals on the school library computers) back when the game was just a simple affair with 2D sprites in a 3D world. For me it was my first experience with an MMO, as I expect it was for many other gamers, and this new-look has me eager to jump back into the game for the first time in just under a decade. For comparisons sake, below is a screenshot of RuneScape in its days of innocence, just how I remember it!
