The CEO of Jagex wants RuneScape to become the world's best MMO

He knows he's up against the giant that is Blizzard, but the changes he's been making to the game over the past year have stabilised player numbers.

Jon Bellamy is the CEO of Jagex, the studio behind the MMORPG RuneScape. Although there is now a wide range of such games available, particularly following the emergence of Asian titles a few years ago, only two Western giants manage to stay at the top: Blizzard's World of Warcraft and RuneScape itself. But now it wants to move from being the runner-up to becoming the world's best MMO. "Our dream is not to be the world's second-largest MMO brand, but the number one," he said in an interview with The Game Business. "There's a huge gap between us and the number one, but if we do things right, we know we can close it."

RuneScape has been doing things a little differently for some time now to achieve this feat. Perhaps the most significant decision - and also the most controversial for its investors - was the removal of the Treasure Hunter monetisation tier in 2025, which offered a boost to loot and experience through microtransactions. Bellay says that following this decision, revenue from the game - which is now celebrating its 25th anniversary - fell significantly, but that the player base stabilised rather than declined, as had been the case for years.

And very soon we'll find out more details about this plan to take RuneScape to the very top of the MMO world, because, as the CEO of Jagex has revealed, there will be a major livestream on 3 October about the game and its roadmap.

"Laying the groundwork for growth is not the same as expecting growth to happen simply as a result of laying that groundwork. You have to offer something to attract people. We've laid the groundwork; we've spent the last year not only removing that layer of monetisation, but also overhauling much of the clunkiness and difficulty of the game."

"I've been told very clearly not to reveal anything, but on 3 October at RuneFest we'll be announcing what would be like putting a feast on the table, to actively win people back, and that will happen much sooner than many expect."

Have you tried RuneScape over the past 25 years? What could Jagex do to make you give it a go?