{"id":3737,"date":"2026-07-07T21:07:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T21:07:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=3737"},"modified":"2026-07-07T21:07:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T21:07:28","slug":"how-runescape-studio-is-prepping-a-25-year-old-pc-franchise-for-its-first-ever-console-release-including-crossplay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=3737","title":{"rendered":"How \u2018RuneScape\u2019 Studio Is Prepping a 25-Year-Old PC Franchise for Its First-Ever Console Release, Including Crossplay"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tThe release of the latest chapter in the \u201cRuneScape\u201d franchise is fast approaching with the September launch of \u201cDragonwilds,\u201d which will mark a turning point for the beloved PC franchise.<\/p>\n

Read more Christopher Nolan Says \u2018The Odyssey\u2019s\u2019 Modern English Dialogue \u2018Was a No-Brainer\u2019 Even If \u2018It Might Bite Me on the Ass\u2019 and \u2018I Was Maybe Being Na\u00efve\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tCurrently available in Steam Early Access for PC players, the title is particularly notable because it will mark the first-ever \u201cRuneScape\u201d game to come to console devices in the MMORPG\u2019s 25-year history.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs porting to new platforms has become much easier with Unreal Engine 5, which is what \u201cRuneScape\u201d maker Jagex is using to build the title, there are key aspects the team has had to pay attention to when it comes to making a game that has a good \u201cfeel\u201d on Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S consoles when it debuts Sept. 15, in addition to \u201cRuneScape\u2019s\u201d longtime home on PCs.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe development\u2019s been straightforward, but there\u2019s a lot of work that we have to do on the UX, the user experience, because while we\u2019ve been developing with controller in mind, there is an expectation from a console player around the experience on a controller,\u201d Jagex\u2019s \u201cRuneScape: Dragonwilds\u201d creative director Rick Turek told Variety<\/em> during an interview at Summer Game Fest last month. \u201cThere isn\u2019t, I don\u2019t believe, a best-in-class survival game on a controller that has really nailed it with the types of features.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAn example Turek gives is the Xbox-owned \u201cMinecraft,\u201d which is \u201cquite simple, in terms of its control features, and it doesn\u2019t have a lot of overlapping systems because it\u2019s quite organic.\u201d In comparison, the Jagex exec says \u201cRuneScape: Dragonwilds\u201d is \u201cquite an interface-heavy game.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhich is really great for PC, but as soon as you start putting that on controller, a lot of the work has been less about trying to do the port to console, because we have Unreal \u2014 it\u2019s more been about the user experience and how we make the controller feel great,\u201d Turek said. \u201cAnd \u2018RuneScape,\u2019 being traditionally PC, what that means if I\u2019m a console player and if I\u2019m getting the same experience out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Sky Yang Signs With Range Media Partners (EXCLUSIVE)<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tAccording to Jagex, more than one million Early Access copies of \u201cRuneScape: Dragonwilds\u201d had been sold as of June. That engagement comes as Jagex has been promoting its \u201cstrategy to expand \u2018RuneScape\u2019 into a broader ecosystem of forever games and connected experiences, grounded in a renewed commitment to integrity and fair play,\u201d including \u201cthe reduction of monetization mechanics.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWith this in mind, the U.K.-based developer Jagex is balancing courting longtime \u201cRuneScape\u201d players, as well as potential new fans with features like that feel-good controller aspect and promises of crossplay abilities.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cMy general assumption is that there are lots of people who\u2019ve touch \u2018RuneScape\u2019 in one way or another, but aren\u2019t still playing the MMO,\u201d Jagex product director Robert Galassi-Fox said. \u201cSo a lot of when we kicked off it was talking to people in early research to see how many people preferred playing on the [retro game controller] sticks. It\u2019s not a small amount of people. So it was very important for us to stick the landing and part of what we were doing even in Alpha was being quite specific, as Rick said, about it feeling good on the controller first.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tGalassi-Fox added: \u201cUs coming to PC made good sense in terms of the [Early Access] expression, but I\u2019m more excited for this new audience and seeing what some of the expectations are. We want it to be equivalent, and the intent, and this hasn\u2019t changed yet, is that there will be crossplay, so people will be able to play with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Craig Kilborn Sets Directorial Debut \u2018The Life Golden\u2019 Starring Lauren German and Tom Byrne (EXCLUSIVE)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The release of the latest chapter in the “RuneScape” franchise is fast approaching with the September launch of “Dragonwilds.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3736,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[293],"tags":[3071,3073,3072],"class_list":["post-3737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gaming","tag-jagex","tag-runescape-dragonwilds","tag-runescape"],"yoast_head":"\nHow \u2018RuneScape\u2019 Studio Is Prepping a 25-Year-Old PC Franchise for Its First-Ever Console Release, Including Crossplay - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=3737\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How \u2018RuneScape\u2019 Studio Is Prepping a 25-Year-Old PC Franchise for Its First-Ever Console Release, Including Crossplay - 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