Jagex, the developers behind RuneScape and RuneScape old school, announced a new project they have been working on called RuneScape: Dragonwilds. They announced that this title will be of the survival genre and also co-op. Parties of one to four have to work together to gather resources, build camps and fight tons of enemies.
The Setting Of Dragonwilds
Dragonwilds takes place in a completely new place called Ashenfall in the RuneScape universe, it consists of two regions and 5 unique biomes and more will be added post launch. The land consists of lush greenery, mountains, villages and of course is inhabited by dragons who we will get tasked with defeating.
The land also hides various kinds of items other than the standard resource we’ve come to expect, exploration will always be encouraged as players are likely to find better spells or equipment that will ultimately make the goal of survival easier.
Other than dragons there are also all kinds of beasts present in Ashenfall such as rats, trolls, cows and other creatures that are present in the world of RuneScape. However, these beasts will be changed and twisted due to the magic that fuses them to the surrounding flora making encounters different from what players might expect.
Combat And Base Building
The trailer Jagex dropped also showcases the 3 main types of combat style that the game will feature which are Ranged, Magic and Melee. Ranged players will use their bow to pick off enemies from afar, while Magic users can pelt various elemental attacks on enemies.
Not much was shown of the Melee combat but those who have played RuneScape can know what to expect from this sort of playstyle. However what is interesting that was shown was the fact that players can build bases from resources they gather.
Players will be able to build entire houses through an intricate build system that allows them to customize every aspect of the house they want to build. This will eventually lead to entire villages being constructed as players build more and more houses near each other.
Community Driven Development
The game is set to launch in early access sometime in Spring of this year but did enter Alpha testing in late 2024. Some players were given exclusive access to the Alpha to provide feedback on certain mechanics and gameplay elements.
We are seeing that more and more titles are entering this style of development where a title will enter early access and players start to provide enhancements or show bugs and glitches which would otherwise never get caught in testing.
This sort of development is beneficial for both sides and players can provide feedback on the game and see changes reflected in real time and developers will easily get to know if they need to work more on any existing features or not.
A Worthwhile Title
RuneScape Dragonwilds has the potential to get the same level of success as Old School RuneScape or even the modern RuneScape. The game is built with Unreal Engine thus there is a certain level of visual fidelity that is expected and even the trailers show this.
The game is already starting off with an expansive map and thus lots of quests for players to grind for and get gear and/or other resources. The fact that the game will take place in the RuneScape universe is sure to attract veteran fans of the originals but it being set in a new area also helps with inviting new potential players to the mix.
Overall, the future of RuneScape: Dragonwilds is looking extremely bright, Jagex are veteran developers of multiple other titles and it is great to see their creativity shine in this regard while still working with familiar elements. Hopefully we’ll get to see an early 2026 launch date of the game when it hits version 1.0.
