RuneScape Classic Closing Down After 17 Years

RuneScape Classic, the very first version of the game released by Jagex in 2001, will be closing down for good after 17 long years. For those who aren’t aware of Jagex’s beloved series, RuneScape is an MMORPG set in a medieval world where you can play however you like, with whoever you like.

The news will no doubt upset some fans as it’s an MMORPG that has been well-loved for a long time now, and is often the first MMO players go to in their quest for adventure in the perilous lands of online gaming.  Of course, depending on your age, you may not have even known there was a RuneScape Classic, with it having first launched nearly two decades ago.

Regardless, it was a decision that was first announced on RuneScape’s blog today, with the post detailing plans for Classic in the future, as well as why it was being shut down for good. The main problem seemed to be with how Classic, being created using such old technology, doesn’t have the strength to stand against new technology such as hacking, 3rd party tools, bots, and the like.

“It has been amazing to see such dedication amongst those of you who have kept playing RuneScape Classic over the last few years, some of you have even managed to reach max total!” The blog reads. “However it has not been all fun and games.  With advancements in technology helping to further support both RuneScape and Old School RuneScape, our tools are no longer compatible with Classic. This is particularly a problem with our community safety and macro detection tools.”

With so many problems it wouldn’t be foolish to assume that the player base isn’t there either, but on the contrary, Classic is doing better than ever and even has a healthy, active community on Twitch.

Unfortunately, just because people are playing the game doesn’t mean that the developers are supporting it. Jagex touched upon that issue in their blog post, stating: “The number of bugs is getting worse, and we’re gradually seeing the game breaking. It’s important to highlight that these are bugs which we can’t fix due to the unsupported nature of the game.”

RuneScape Classic’s servers will be shutting down for good on the 1st of August, but don’t worry, there’s a lot more RuneScape to choose from.