RuneScape 4 is the working title of a new MMO that Jagex revealed Saturday at RuneFest 2026, PC Gamer reported. The game is being built in Unreal Engine and debuted in a teaser trailer.
What Jagex announced about RuneScape 4
RuneScape: Dragonwilds executive producer Jesse America said the project began as an expansion called Shadows of Ashenfall, This Week in Video Games reported. That expansion was first described in the Dragonwilds roadmap as a push toward higher player counts, larger worlds and new ways to engage with dragons.
As the team built early prototypes, America said, the design pointed to a completely different scope, and the game deserved to stand on its own as Jagex’s fourth new pillar. PC Gamer reported that Dragonwilds playtesters had asked for a more traditional MMO take on that game’s setting and look.
America said the entire studio, including the teams behind RuneScape, Old School RuneScape and Dragonwilds, will work on RuneScape 4. Jagex also confirmed an animated RuneScape adaptation with Lyrical Animation and creator MoistCr1TiKaL.
What the RuneScape 4 teaser shows
The teaser shows a medieval town in a green valley beneath floating islands. A dragon rider comes under attack from a three-headed dragon while a wizard watches from below. The trailer ends with the wizard welcoming a new adventurer to the city.
PC Gamer described the art style as a hybrid of RuneScape 3 and Old School RuneScape.
What RuneScape 4 means for current games
Jagex has not announced a release window. The Dragonwilds expansion had been aimed at 2027, and PC Gamer said the larger scope has almost certainly pushed that back. It also is unclear whether RuneScape 4 will carry over character progression, as RuneScape 3 did for RuneScape 2, or whether Jagex will preserve RuneScape 3 in any form, PC Gamer noted.
The number follows the series’ main releases: the original game in 2001, RuneScape 2 in 2004 and RuneScape 3 in 2013. Old School RuneScape, based on the game as it stood in 2007, will keep running as its own game and remains Jagex’s most successful title, PC Gamer said.
Other RuneFest announcements
RuneScape Reignited launches Dec. 2 with remastered gameplay, a fresh economy and new high scores. Free access runs Dec. 2-12, Bleeding Cool reported. A plugin API arrives in October, and the first of three story arcs, Hoard of Dragons, follows in January 2027.
Old School RuneScape gets The Fractured Archive raid on Oct. 20 and Hardcore Worlds, which add permadeath, on Nov. 4. Dragonwilds gets its Luminance update in December, adding Elves and the Prayer skill, ahead of the Blood Crystal Saga in 2027.
Looking to 2027, RuneScape adds the story arcs City of Gnomes and Secrets of Karamja, an Agility rework and a new Grandmaster quest. Old School RuneScape gets new quests and the Soul Altar with Menaphos, plus a Mining and Smithing rework. Dragonwilds adds modding support through a CurseForge partnership.
For more RuneScape community news, read our coverage of the 100 Thieves AI merch backlash, a player’s two-year raid challenge or five free MMOs for fans of Crystal of Atlan.
