Friday 22nd February 2013, Cambridge, UK – Jagex, the creators of the hugely popular and multi-award winning free to play adventure game, RuneScape, have confirmed that they will be launching Old School RuneScape today following an already sizable vote of support for the service hosted on the RuneScape website.
RuneScape as it was in late 2007 has often been heralded as one of the defining periods of the game by its players. Since 2007 the game has undergone some significant improvements, including a completely new graphic and audio engine, upgrade of its combat system and with additional quests and updates added weekly.
Through the vote over the next week, RuneScape players will decide what level of investment the Old School RuneScape should receive going forward, ranging from a basic service with just critical maintenance, to an additional full blown development team focusing on evolving that game in a different direction the players votes will decide.
“This isn’t the first time that we’ve left such a big decision up to our community,” said Mark Gerhard, Jagex CEO, “In 2011 I ran a very similar poll which allowed our players to decide whether to bring back Free Trade and the Wilderness which had, at the time, been removed from the game. We’re passionate about developing engaging and innovative content for our players and strive to delight and entertain the community. This year is no different in our ambition to continue to build a game for yet another decade. Our players’ dedication, passion, feedback and enthusiasm all provide the compass, energy and satisfaction that powers Jagex.”
Gerhard continues, “There’s always a certain amount of nostalgia when talking about anything to do with the past, so we needed to be sure that Old School RuneScape was something that a reasonable amount of our players genuinely wanted, rather than just something that they had a passing interest in and with over 250,000 votes already cast, the popularity of this initiative is clear.”
The early access to the Old School 2007 servers begins today and all players that vote will be able to start their adventure prior to its official launch. The poll will remain open for players to vote for the service until Friday 1st March. To vote now head over to: www.RuneScape.com/oldschool.
About RuneScape
RuneScape is the world’s most popular free-to-play massively multiplayer online adventure game (as recognised by Guinness World Records), from multiple award-winning independent British development studio Jagex. Set in a richly detailed, medieval fantasy world, RuneScape’s traditional storytelling proudly draws its inspiration from classic role-playing games. RuneScape delivers a contemporary, innovative and original experience for millions of players across the globe every day. RuneScape offers a fully featured free-to-play game, with a popular subscription option of even greater scale and ambition, both running directly within almost any computer’s browser.
Thanks to its character-class-free skill system and elective gameplay, there are no limits to the hero players can become, no quest you cannot complete and no requirement to collaborate with others or face them in player-versus-player combat unless you so choose. RuneScape’s distinctive role-playing style rewards players who think strategically and play smartly. Its witty, intelligent tone, finely balanced gameplay, epic questing and myriad in-world diversions combine to create a game that has earned its place as the most popular free-to-play massively multiplayer online game of all time and continues to push the boundaries of online role-playing games.
About Jagex
Jagex is a multi-award winning online games developer based in Cambridge, England. Jagex specialises in the development of high quality browser-based games with supporting platform and technology. Jagex is also the largest independent games developer and publisher in the UK.
Jagex has a long-standing reputation for creating the world’s best online games and for developing hugely popular, high quality, accessible, free-to-play games and for providing an unbeatable community experience for millions of players around the world. Jagex has developed and self-published over 40 online titles, including the world’s most popular free multiplayer online game, RuneScape.com.