Less than 2 weeks after announcing RuneScape Reignited, Jagex is scrapping the whole thing

Life comes at you fast, as the saying goes, and the folks at RuneScape developer Jagex can sure attest to that. Less than two weeks after announcing RuneScape Reignited—essentially a new type of character on separate, unique servers, intended as a way for new and lapsed players to restart their adventures from fresh—the studio has decided to cancel it.

There was trouble with RuneScape Reignited almost right from the start, with complaints ranging from a potential community split to restrictions on character interactions and the need to pay for a separate subscription. Just a few days after the initial announcement, Jagex apologized for making veteran players feel like they were being shunted aside, and said it was "exploring a heavy set of revisions to Reignited based on your feedback."

A few days after that, it laid out a more specific list of intended alterations, and invited more feedback from players, "so we can follow up next week with more of our thoughts." With that feedback now received, it seems that Jagex has heard enough.

"It is clear that we missed the mark on this, and so we are not moving forward with it," Mod Ryan—associate creative director Ryan Philpott—said in a blog post announcing the cancellation. "Our goal is to see Runescape grow again, with returning players coming back and new players joining, but never at the expense of our existing community."

It's a very sudden about-face, but not unprecedented. In 2023, for instance, Jagex dropped a new RuneScape battle pass in the wake of massive player backlash; in 2025, the studio scrapped "Treasure Hunter" microtransactions, in what Jagex CEO Jon Bellamy said was "part of a wider transformation across Jagex, which is seeing a renewed commitment to delivering deeper value, greater fairness and long-term improvements for players."

It hasn't been entirely smooth sailing: Recent price hikes have not gone over well (no surprise there, though), and Jagex's cowardly decision to scrap in-game Pride Month events was allowed to stand despite players absolutely mauling the studio for it. But in terms of gameplay, at least, Jagex has demonstrated a willingness to react with relative haste when it's blown things sufficiently badly—and this definitely qualifies.

Despite the cancellation, Philpott invited new and returning players to jump into the game with a 10 day free trial beginning on December 2, which will offer full access to all worlds and content. The 2027 roadmap for RuneScape also remains in place:

"The future of RuneScape is still extremely bright," Philpott concluded. "RuneScape will always be built for and defined by its community. So please keep letting us know when you feel we're getting it wrong and shout with that same energy when you think we're getting it right too."