RuneScape developer Jagex has committed to a year-long refresh of the 25-year-old MMO, beginning with the complete removal of a controversial gacha system.
Introduced in 2014 as the replacement for another random chance microtransaction system that awarded various XP boosts and progression items, Treasure Hunter passed a player poll to be removed from the game entirely in late 2025 – the first step in Jagex’s plan to restore “integrity” to game progression.
Following the game’s quarter-century anniversary celebration on January 4, Jagex revealed its full plans for RuneScape in 2026 on January 19 with a two-part roadmap focused on introducing new content and a renewed focus on remastering older content, dubbed the “Road to restoration.”
RuneScape 2026 roadmap explained
In addition to new content, the roadmap details that each month will be accompanied by quality of life updates.
Those include UI improvements, early game balance to improve the new player experience, and visual updates to the areas of the existing game world, many of which still look similar to how they appear in Old School RuneScape.
The year culminates with part two of Havenhythe, a new end-game boss, and the addition of plugin support, allowing players to create their own tools, similar to OSRS.
To usher in this new era, Jagex rolled out a new logo for RuneScape and currently has an ongoing event to celebrate the veteran MMO’s 25th anniversary. From now until January 31, 2026, all players can earn special variants of skill mastery capes and other cosmetics.
OSRS, the retro version of RuneScape that has become more popular than the original, modernized RuneScape, is scheduled to get its own roadmap on January 25 as part of the game’s Winter Summit.
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