RuneScape 4 Announced at RuneFest 2026

RuneScape 4 is officially in development. Jagex announced a new RuneScape MMORPG at RuneFest 2026 in Birmingham on October 3, showing a CGI teaser of a town in a green valley, floating islands, and a dragon rider under attack. The new game carries the working title RS4 and is the first numbered mainline follow-up since RuneScape 3 launched in 2013, which Jagex describes as its fourth generation RuneScape project. The reveal landed in front of more than 6,000 fans at the NEC, and Jagex says it plans to build the game with direct community feedback, which fits a franchise now more than 25 years old.

What Jagex Has Confirmed About RuneScape 4

Per TechPowerUp, RuneScape 4 is being built in Unreal Engine, though Jagex has not said which version. It is in early development with its own dedicated team and is still a few years away. Platforms, a release date, and monetization details have not been shared, and the story is said to begin in Ashenfall, the region from RuneScape: Dragonwilds, set in the Sixth Age of the world of Gielinor and years after the Dragon Queen Kuldra was destroyed. Jagex says it wants to build on the tech development learned on Dragonwilds and the community co-development learned through RuneScape and Old School, with integrity and permanent progression central to its design principles.

Is it Replacing RuneScape 3 or Old School RuneScape?

No. Jagex says RuneScape 4 will sit alongside RuneScape 3, Old School RuneScape, and Dragonwilds as an additional way to experience the RuneScape universe, while those RuneScape games keep their own teams and roadmaps. Whether RuneScape 3 progress will carry over remains unconfirmed.

How RuneScape 4 Grew Out of Dragonwilds

RuneScape 4 began as an expansion for Dragonwilds, Jagex's Unreal Engine 5 survival game, reportedly planned for 2027. Playtester demand for persistent servers, high player counts, and player trading pushed the design toward a new MMO that Jagex felt deserved its own game.

RuneScape 4 Arrives Alongside an Animated Series

Jagex also announced an animated series set in the world of Gielinor, developed with Lyrical Animation and creator Charlie White, better known online as MoistCr1TiKaL, and produced alongside his Meatier Productions. Jagex CEO Jon Bellamy framed it as proof that the future of RuneScape is not only games, while Charlie White, a player for 22 years with more than 25 million followers across his channels, called it one of his favorite IPs ever. Development is early, with no release window, cast, or platform announced, and more details are expected next year, in 2027.