RuneScape 4 Is in Development, and RuneScape Reignited Launches 2 December: Every RuneFest Reveal

Jagex announced a fourth RuneScape MMO at RuneFest on 3 October 2026, built in Unreal Engine under the working title RS4 and, in the studio's own words on the official RS4 page, "still a few years away". The same show dated RuneScape Reignited, a fresh-start character type with its own economy, for 2 December, and set out 2027 roadmaps for RuneScape, Old School RuneScape and RuneScape: Dragonwilds.

This explainer is built on Jagex's own RuneFest posts for each game, cross-checked against coverage from IGN, Gematsu and Insider Gaming, with Steam player and review figures we read on 4 October 2026 at about 06:40 UTC.

What is RS4, and what do we actually know?

Very little beyond the basics, by design. Jagex says RS4 is "our fourth generation RuneScape project", that the name is a working title, and that it chose to reveal the game early so players can be involved in development. The confirmed points from the announcement are short:

• It is a new RuneScape MMORPG built in Unreal Engine.
• It sits alongside RuneScape, Old School RuneScape and Dragonwilds; Jagex says it replaces none of them.
• It is set in Gielinor in the Sixth Age, starting in Ashenfall, the continent introduced in Dragonwilds, years after that game's story.
• Platforms, membership, combat, skills and a release window are all unannounced. Jagex says it will share more "next year".

PC Gamer and Insider Gaming both report that the project began life as an expansion for Dragonwilds before growing into a separate MMO; Jagex's own page only says RS4 builds on the technology learned on Dragonwilds. Gematsu notes that no platforms were named.

What is RuneScape Reignited?

Reignited is not a new game or a server reset. According to Jagex's Reignited FAQ, it is a new permanent character type that plays in the same worlds as existing characters but has its own Grand Exchange, its own hiscores and no paid progression. Reignited and "Veteran" characters can chat and share clans, but cannot trade with each other or share boss instances.

It launches on 2 December alongside a remastered early-game journey and a new Adventure Guide, and every Reignited character gets free access to members' content for the first 10 days. A Hall of Legends will put up permanent statues for world-first achievements. The idea, a clean economy for lapsed players without wiping anyone, is close to what Blizzard is trying with World of Warcraft: Forever, and Insider Gaming drew the same comparison.

Early reaction in r/runescape leans sceptical: within hours of the reveal, several of the subreddit's highest-ranked threads framed Reignited as a bad deal for long-time players. Those threads are too new for reliable vote counts, and the feature is two months from launch.

Every dated RuneFest announcement

Undated items include Old School's long-awaited Menaphos and a Mining and Smithing rework (OSRS overview), the City of Gnomes and Secrets of Karamja arcs on RuneScape's 2027 roadmap, and the second Dragonwilds chapter, Crown of Night (Dragonwilds post).

How big are the RuneScape games on Steam right now?

Steam's own counters give a rough sense of where Jagex's audience sits, with one big caveat: RuneScape and Old School RuneScape can also be played through Jagex's own launcher and on mobile, so their Steam numbers capture only part of their players. Dragonwilds is a paid game sold on Steam and on consoles.

That gap is why RS4's setting matters. Dragonwilds sold 1.3 million copies in early access against an internal target of 200,000, according to Jagex chief executive Jon Bellamy in a July interview reported by Insider Gaming. Starting the new MMO in Ashenfall points it at that newer audience as much as at veterans.

What it means for players

Old School players have the nearest dates: the Fractured Archive raid on 20 October and Hardcore Worlds on 4 November. Lapsed RuneScape players get the cleanest re-entry point on 2 December, with 10 free days of members' content on a Reignited character. Dragonwilds owners get Luminance in December, with Hunter and modding in the first half of 2027. Our Dragonwilds hub will track those dates.

What we don't know yet

Jagex has not said whether RS4 will need a separate subscription, how accounts will work, or which platforms it targets. It has not given Luminance an exact December date either. Treat any RS4 release window you see before Jagex's promised 2027 update as speculation.