For video games, a 25-year lifespan is an almost impossibly long time. With so many new games coming out every week, a title staying in the conversation and attracting new players for even a few years is a massive achievement, and remaining relevant for a quarter-century is almost unheard of. Only a handful of massively multiplayer online RPGs have been able to maintain their popularity for nearly that long, and one game that just turned 25 years old did so by embracing its roots even as it continually changed.
When RuneScape launched on January 4, 2001, it was a browser game run by two brothers operating out of their parents’ house. By the end of 2001, developer Jagex was officially formed, and not long after that, paid subscriptions were introduced. Over the next few years, RuneScape’s engine was rewritten twice, and a new graphical style was implemented.
