Jagex has officially announced the development of a brand-new RuneScape MMORPG, currently operating under the working title RS4. Revealed during RuneFest 2026, the ambitious project will take players back into the world of Gielinor for an entirely new MMO experience built using Unreal Engine.
Despite the RS4 name, this isn’t simply a major update or replacement for the existing version of RuneScape. Jagex has confirmed that the new MMO is being developed as an independent experience designed to exist alongside RuneScape, Old School RuneScape and RuneScape: Dragonwilds. The studio says each of its existing games will continue to have dedicated development teams, roadmaps and investment.
RS4 will be set during Gielinor’s Sixth Age, although players won’t initially begin their adventure in one of RuneScape’s most familiar locations. Instead, the new MMO will start in Ashenfall, the landmass introduced in RuneScape: Dragonwilds, located north-east of Gielinor.
The story will take place years after the events of Dragonwilds and the destruction of the Dragon Queen Kuldra. Ashenfall will have changed significantly during that time, giving Jagex an opportunity to reinterpret the region for its new MMORPG. However, the developer has made it clear that Ashenfall is only the beginning, with plans for the game to eventually expand into familiar areas of Gielinor alongside completely new locations and stories.
Jagex is also taking lessons learned from both Dragonwilds and its existing RuneScape games into the project. The studio specifically highlighted the technology developed for Dragonwilds and the community-driven development approach used across RuneScape and Old School RuneScape. Permanent progression and game integrity have already been named among RS4’s core design principles.
There are still plenty of major questions surrounding the project. Jagex hasn’t revealed its combat system, skills, membership model, supported platforms or whether existing RuneScape accounts will have any connection to the new MMO. The developer has deliberately announced the project at a very early stage so players can become involved in its development, with more information and opportunities for community participation expected to arrive in 2027.
A release date hasn’t been announced either, and players shouldn’t expect RS4 anytime soon. Jagex says the new RuneScape MMO is still several years away, making its RuneFest appearance more of an early introduction than a full reveal.
Even so, it’s one of the biggest RuneScape announcements in years. After more than two decades of RuneScape and Old School RuneScape evolving their respective versions of Gielinor, Jagex is now building an entirely new MMORPG from the ground up — and this time, it’s doing it with Unreal Engine.