If you could only have one sentence to describe RuneScape as well as where the game is headed in, say, one year from now, or two years, What would that be?
I'd say that in the coming years, we'll likely focus on creating RuneScape more cross-platform with OSRS Accounts which will make it an even more modern experience in addition, maybe making it more polished by giving it a more 2020s design rather than a look that resembles the 2000s.
I'm going to just declare: "RuneScape - Everywhere". RuneScape is available for PC as well as Mac. It will be released on mobile in June 2021.
The upcoming mobile launch of RuneScape in June will see the Jagex team looking for a broader and cross-platform future for the game. Although moving the menu-driven MMO to non-PC hardware can lead to some issues, it's an already in progress. Discovering as many methods as feasible to bring players onboard isn't a brand new concept for Jagex and it's one of the reasons why it is a great approach to the future of its games.
In an RSgoldfast conversation with Product Manager Matt Casey and Senior Product Director Liam Powney, they said the mobile development team of the company could be transformed into an all-platform team. RuneScape has its sights set on higher-end platforms isn't any way surprising.
The game could have been an MMO for desktops, but the actions of its upcoming mobile release as well as the continuing support for Old School RuneScape instead point towards a developer who is interested in maintaining its roots and keeping it at the forefront of technology.
Remastering Player Characters and Future-Proofing
In the process of creating an all-encompassing mobile port the Jagex team had to revisit several assets from the original game before revamping the game. The process of developing for a brand new platform enhanced the original game. The game was also prepared to be adapted for consoles in the near future. In addition to accessibility issues like accessibility to text as well as text readability, the Jagex team realized that a variety of art and textures assets from the iconic MMO could benefit from an update of digital paint.
Particularly the character models required to be remastered. According to Casey that having the game appear great on mobile devices "prompted Jagex to take a look at fundamental things, like how your avatar's appearance in the game." Because of "a large number of new players joining" through mobiledevices, the team "smartened to make small texture changes and resolutions and that's just a sign that the game will turn out to look much, much more enjoyable." The resolution improvements also mean that the game will look more appealing on a TV or monitor which is connected to an Xbox or PlayStation could be connected to. It might even be great for play on an Nintendo Switch, which would be the following step of the MMO.
It took about five years from the launch to finally release RuneScape 3 on mobile devices. Many aspects of the game required changes before it was released, however because of this work in the port to mobile, the release on additional consoles may not be that far away. With the game-as-a service model becoming more widespread across consoles and continuous improvements in console controllers the obvious hurdles could be more easily overcome than we thought.
Casey has described his vision for the future of the game as "platform incompatible." He also said that he's discovered the popularity to Buy OSRS Fire Cape of live-service games especially interesting when it comes to the subscription MMO.