Jagex’s Fourth RuneScape MMO: What Was Officially Announced

AI-generated illustration of adventurers riding dragons over a vast fantasy world.

Jagex has announced a fourth RuneScape MMO, but the project remains early in development and years away from release. That combination, a real announcement with very few confirmed details, is exactly why it is worth writing about carefully. Fans have waited 25 years with this franchise, and a new MMO in Gielinor is a big deal. It is also a project where most of the interesting questions, release date, platforms, classes, combat, and progression, have not been answered yet, and filling those gaps with guesses would mislead readers.

This guide explains what Jagex actually announced at RuneFest, how the project grew out of Dragonwilds, why the Unreal Engine choice matters, what it means for the existing RuneScape games, and what to watch for next. Confirmed facts are kept separate from speculation throughout.

What Jagex actually announced at RuneFest

At RuneFest in Birmingham, UK, Jagex announced a fourth entry in its long-running MMO series. The project is currently known by the working title RS4, which Jagex says is a temporary name, not necessarily the final retail title. It is in early development, built with Unreal Engine, and it will sit alongside the other branches of the series, RuneScape, Old School RuneScape, and Dragonwilds, rather than replacing any of them.

A teaser trailer was shared at RuneFest, confirming that the next entry will be set in the world of Gielinor during the Sixth Age, beginning in Ashenfall, a region that first appeared in Dragonwilds. The game will take place years after the events of Dragonwilds and the destruction of the Dragon Queen Kuldra. Jagex wants to grow beyond Ashenfall over time, moving into both new and familiar places.

Jagex also said the game is still several years away from release, and that it decided to announce the game early so that it could be developed alongside its community. In Jagex's own words, RuneScape has been shaped by its players for 25 years, and its games are at their best when they are built with players, not just for them. That early announcement is therefore a deliberate choice, not an accident, and it means the next few years will include community input, testing, and iteration, rather than a silent wait for a finished product.

RuneFest 2026 ran across October 3 and 4 at the NEC in Birmingham, drawing more than 6,000 fans to mark 25 years of RuneScape. The fourth MMO was the headline reveal of the weekend, but it was not the only announcement, and it is important not to merge the other RuneFest news into this project's feature list.

The title is not final: why RS4 is a working title

The announcement uses careful language. Jagex says RS4 is a working title, and that the project is its fourth generation RuneScape project, so RS4 works well for now. That does not mean the final game will be called RuneScape 4 on the box. A later naming announcement could replace it entirely.

This distinction matters for readers searching for news. RS4 and RuneScape 4 are useful search terms because they describe the fourth MMO in the franchise, and they help distinguish it from RuneScape, Old School RuneScape, and Dragonwilds. Until Jagex gives the project a final name, however, articles should make that distinction explicit, so readers do not treat a placeholder as a confirmed title.

It also matters for expectations. A final title often comes with a clearer identity, a logo, and a marketing push. RS4 does not have those yet, because it is still at the beginning of a hugely ambitious project, in Jagex's own description. Expect the name to evolve as the game itself takes shape.

How RS4 grew out of Dragonwilds

One of the most interesting parts of the announcement is where RS4 came from. It did not start as a standalone MMO pitch. It started as an expansion for RuneScape: Dragonwilds, Jagex's open-world survival game, under the title Shadows of Ashenfall.

In Dragonwilds' post-launch roadmap, Shadows of Ashenfall was described as an ambitious expansion centred around higher player counts, larger worlds, exciting new ways to engage with dragons, and a focus on social interaction, trade, and sandbox fun. As the Dragonwilds team built designs and prototypes for that expansion, the scope grew beyond what an expansion could contain. The designs pointed at a completely different scope, a typical Jagex MMO, rather than a survival game expansion.

Jagex therefore made the decision to turn the project into a standalone game, its fourth pillar, with its own dedicated development team. That history explains two things about RS4. First, its starting region, Ashenfall, comes directly from Dragonwilds, because that is where the project began. Second, its design DNA is likely to blend Dragonwilds' open-world and dragon ideas with the traditional MMO structure that made RuneScape famous, rather than being a pure copy of either.

Executive producer Jesse America, speaking in a media briefing ahead of RuneFest, described how the team embraced the challenge with ambition and enthusiasm, and realised the project deserved its own game, not to be a part of Dragonwilds. That is a useful clue about Jagex's internal confidence in the project, but it is not a feature list. The prototypes that convinced Jagex to go standalone have not been shown in detail to the public.

Unreal Engine: what the engine choice does and does not tell us

Jagex says the new MMO is being built in Unreal Engine, and reports specify Unreal Engine 5, the same engine Jagex used for Dragonwilds. That is a substantial technology shift for one of gaming's longest-running MMO franchises, which has traditionally used its own RuneTek engine.

The engine choice matters for several practical reasons. Unreal Engine is a modern, widely used engine with strong tools for large open worlds, lighting, and cross-platform development, and Jagex already has experience with it from Dragonwilds. Building on that experience, rather than starting from scratch on a new engine, may help the team move faster and reuse lessons learned on Dragonwilds' tech development.

What the engine choice does not tell us is equally important. It does not establish a particular renderer, frame rate, hardware requirement, upscaling method, graphics preset, or platform list. Engine selection is a development decision, not a benchmark. A game built in Unreal Engine 5 can look and run very differently depending on its art direction, optimisation, server architecture, and target hardware. Until Jagex publishes system requirements or shows extended gameplay, readers should ignore posts that present invented PC specs as confirmed.

It also does not tell us whether RS4 will be PC-only, console, mobile, or all three. Platforms were not announced at RuneFest, and that omission is normal for an early project. Platform decisions often come later, once the core game is more mature and Jagex knows what hardware it needs to target.

A new adventure in Gielinor, not a replacement

Jagex has been clear on one point: RS4 is not a replacement for any of its games. It will have its own dedicated development team, and it is designed to sit alongside RuneScape, Old School RuneScape, and Dragonwilds as an additional way to experience RuneScape and the world of Gielinor.

That matters for players who are worried about their existing progress. RuneScape and Old School RuneScape have decades of progression, items, and community history, and Jagex has not announced any plan to shut them down or transfer accounts to RS4. Dragonwilds is also continuing as its own game, with its own roadmap. RS4 is a fourth pillar, not a successor that ends the others.

Jagex has also said that, as a RuneScape game, integrity and permanent progression will be central to its design principles. That is a statement of intent, not a detailed progression system. It suggests Jagex wants RS4 to respect player time and achievements in the way RuneScape players expect, rather than treating progression as disposable. How that principle translates into levels, skills, gear, and endgame content remains to be shown.

For players keeping an eye on the franchise's current games, that separation is good news. It means you do not need to stop playing RuneScape, Old School, or Dragonwilds to prepare for RS4, and it means Jagex is not betting the whole franchise on a single unproven project. It is expanding the franchise, not replacing it.

The Sixth Age and Ashenfall: what the setting tells us

The teaser places the story in Gielinor's Sixth Age, beginning in Ashenfall, years after the events of Dragonwilds and the destruction of the Dragon Queen Kuldra. Ashenfall is a starting point, not the full map. Jagex plans to grow the adventure beyond the region over time, taking players into familiar locations as well as new places and stories.

That setting choice gives the project room to build on the franchise's lore without being trapped by it. A Sixth Age setting, years after Dragonwilds, means the world has changed since the events players know, which allows new stories, new factions, and new threats, while still feeling like Gielinor. Starting in Ashenfall, a region first seen in Dragonwilds, also gives the project a concrete starting point that players can already picture, rather than an entirely abstract new world.

The teaser trailer, about a minute long, shows players riding and fighting dragons, which fits the Ashenfall and Dragonwilds connection. Dragons are central to the teaser, but that does not mean RS4 is only about dragons, or that every player will ride one from day one. Teasers are meant to set a tone, not to list every system. The high-energy tone of the trailer suggests Jagex wants RS4 to feel adventurous and dynamic, but the full combat, exploration, and social systems remain to be detailed.

What the setting does not yet provide is a complete map, starting area list, quest list, class system, combat redesign, or progression model. Familiar lore does not prove future content. A region name and an age do not confirm which characters, gods, or historical events will appear, and readers should be sceptical of articles that invent a full quest list from a one-minute teaser.

What the announcement does not confirm

For clarity, here is what Jagex has not confirmed about RS4, as of the RuneFest announcement:

No final title. RS4 is a working title only.
No release date or release window, beyond 'several years away' and 'a few years away'.
No platform list. PC, console, and mobile availability are all unconfirmed.
No system requirements, graphics settings, frame rate targets, or performance numbers.
No detailed class, skill, combat, or progression system.
No subscription model, monetisation breakdown, or launch content catalogue.
No beta, alpha, or testing dates, beyond Jagex's general intention to involve the community early.

Those omissions are normal for an early project and should not be filled with speculation. A responsible summary preserves the confirmed part, identifies what remains open, and avoids turning the most optimistic interpretation into a promise. Readers can enjoy the announcement without being given a made-up release date or hardware table.

Other RuneFest announcements: keep them separate

RuneFest included announcements for several parts of the franchise, not only the new MMO. Jagex also discussed RuneScape, Old School RuneScape, Dragonwilds, an animated adaptation, and creator awards. These announcements should not be merged into RS4's feature list.

For example, RuneScape Reignited was announced as a separate update for the existing RuneScape experience, with a stated December 2 launch date. That date belongs to Reignited, not to RS4. Old School RuneScape received its own roadmap announcements, including an October 20 raid and Hardcore Worlds on November 4, and Dragonwilds received its own update plans. A RuneScape animated series has also entered production, with content creator Charlie 'MoistCr1tikal' White Jr. consulting on the project. None of those dates or features automatically apply to RS4.

Keeping these projects separate prevents a common source of misleading headlines, where a date for one game is mistakenly reported as the release date for another. When you read RS4 news, check which project the article is actually talking about.

Why Jagex announced so early

Jagex's explanation for announcing RS4 years before release is worth taking seriously, because it tells you how the company plans to develop the game. In its announcement, Jagex said it could have kept the project behind closed doors for much longer, especially given that it is still right at the beginning of a hugely ambitious project. It chose not to, because that did not feel very RuneScape, or very Jagex.

For 25 years, RuneScape has been shaped by its players, Jagex said, and its games are at their best when they are built with players, not just for them. That means bringing players into the development journey earlier than expected, sharing ideas, testing things, listening, and learning as the game goes.

That approach has risks and benefits. The benefit is that community feedback can shape the game before its core systems are locked in, which is exactly when feedback is most useful. The risk is that early ideas will change, and players who treat every early statement as a promise may be disappointed when designs evolve. The healthiest way to follow RS4 is to treat early announcements as direction, not as a final feature list, and to expect changes.

Jagex has said it will reveal more details about RS4 next year, with more details on integrity, permanent progression, and community co-development expected then. That gives readers a realistic timeline for the next meaningful update, rather than expecting weekly reveals.

How to follow RS4 without falling for fake specs

Use this checklist to follow the project safely:

Use Jagex and RuneScape official news pages as your primary source, and check the date of each statement.
Distinguish a press release from community interpretation. A forum post is not a Jagex announcement.
Treat RS4 as a working title, not a final name, until Jagex announces otherwise.
Do not trust a release date, platform list, or PC requirements unless they come from a dated Jagex announcement.
Do not trust a full class, skill, or quest list that is based only on a one-minute teaser.
Keep RuneFest announcements for other games separate from RS4. A date for Reignited or OSRS is not a date for RS4.
Expect designs to change. Early development means scope, technology, and content can all evolve.

Following those rules will not make the wait shorter, but it will make it less frustrating, because you will not be disappointed by promises Jagex never actually made.

Bottom line

Jagex's fourth RuneScape MMO, currently called RS4, is real, early, and ambitious. It was announced at RuneFest in Birmingham, it is being built in Unreal Engine, it is set in Gielinor's Sixth Age beginning in Ashenfall years after Dragonwilds, and it will sit alongside RuneScape, Old School RuneScape, and Dragonwilds with its own team. It is still several years away from release, its final title is not confirmed, and its platforms, release date, classes, combat, and system requirements are not confirmed either.

That is not a disappointment. It is the honest state of a project that Jagex chose to announce early so it could be built with its community. The most exciting part of RS4 right now is not a spec sheet, it is the direction: a new MMO in Gielinor, built on Dragonwilds' technology and RuneScape's community lessons, with dragons, a new age, and room to grow beyond Ashenfall over time.

If you are a RuneScape player, you do not need to do anything special to prepare. Keep playing the games you enjoy, watch for Jagex's next update next year, and treat any article that promises a release date or PC specs today with scepticism. RS4 will be worth waiting for, but only if we let Jagex build it properly first.