RuneScape is venturing into new territory with the recently announced RuneScape: Dragonwilds, a cooperative open-world survival game that represents a significant departure from the franchise’s MMO roots. Set to launch in early access this spring (2025), the game preserves the familiar skill-building mechanics of RuneScape while introducing survival and base-building elements reminiscent of games like Valheim. Players will explore Ashenfall, a new continent within the RuneScape universe, featuring transformed creatures, magical abilities, and a central dragon-slaying narrative. With support for solo play or teams of up to four players, Dragonwilds aims to appeal to both longtime RuneScape fans and newcomers seeking a fresh survival experience with RPG elements.
Game Announcement and Concept
Jagex officially revealed RuneScape: Dragonwilds on March 31, 2025, marking an unexpected but exciting new direction for the 24-year-old franchise. The game represents Jagex’s first foray into the increasingly popular open-world survival crafting genre, while maintaining distinct RuneScape elements that longtime fans will recognize. According to Jagex CEO Jon Bellamy, Dragonwilds is designed to be “an entirely new RuneScape experience set within the iconic world of Gielinor and is a game which is worthy of wearing the RuneScape name”.
Unlike traditional RuneScape titles, Dragonwilds focuses on smaller-scale cooperative gameplay for one to four players rather than massive multiplayer interactions. This represents a deliberate pivot toward the survival genre that has seen immense success with titles like Valheim, which itself had previously been compared to RuneScape by some players. Despite these genre changes, the game maintains the “grind skills, slay dragons” ethos that has defined RuneScape for over two decades.
The game has been developed by a newly assembled team at Jagex consisting of industry veterans specifically focused on ensuring Dragonwilds “sits naturally within the RuneScape franchise”. This dedicated development approach suggests Jagex is treating this as a major new pillar for the franchise rather than just an experimental offshoot.
The World of Ashenfall
RuneScape: Dragonwilds takes place on Ashenfall, a previously unexplored continent within the RuneScape universe where “dragons have awoken”. This new setting provides both familiar elements for existing fans and a fresh starting point for newcomers to the franchise. The continent features two distinct regions containing five unique biomes, with the potential for expansion through post-launch content updates.
Though Ashenfall is not the same continent where most of traditional RuneScape takes place, players will encounter locations reminiscent of familiar RuneScape landmarks, including what appears to be a wizard’s tower and a certain castle. This approach creates continuity with the broader RuneScape universe while establishing Ashenfall as a unique setting with its own identity and mysteries.
The narrative premise centers around wild, transformative magic that “spills from its fractured lands,” creating an environment rich in “Anima” – the magical energy fundamental to the RuneScape universe. Players will “unveil the ruins of forgotten civilisations to discover why wild, transformative magic spills from its fractured lands,” suggesting a story-driven exploration component alongside the survival gameplay. This mysterious magical contamination serves as both a gameplay justification for the survival mechanics and a narrative hook for players to investigate.
Gameplay Mechanics and Features
At its core, RuneScape: Dragonwilds blends traditional survival game elements with RuneScape’s established skills and progression systems. Players will gather resources, build camps, craft equipment, and develop their abilities while facing increasingly dangerous threats. The game can be played solo or cooperatively with up to three friends, offering flexibility in how players approach its challenges.
Skill development remains central to gameplay, maintaining continuity with RuneScape’s core identity. Classic RuneScape activities like cooking and woodcutting are present but reimagined for the survival context. These skills interact with the world in novel ways that take advantage of Ashenfall’s magical properties. For instance, players can use wind runes to gain gliding abilities for traversing large distances, adding vertical exploration to the gameplay.
The magic system appears to be significantly enhanced compared to traditional RuneScape, with players able to “explode ore veins with a snap of your fingers” and “conjure a spectral axe to chop down a line of trees in an instant”. One particularly notable ability was described as “ax-tral projection,” allowing players to line up multiple trees and cut them down simultaneously with a spectral axe. The classic “Bones to Peaches” spell from RuneScape will also make an appearance, providing another link to the franchise’s heritage.
Base building appears to be a significant component, with players establishing camps that can presumably be expanded and fortified as they gather more resources and develop their skills. This represents a new gameplay layer not present in traditional RuneScape titles and aligns with conventions of the survival genre.
Creatures and Combat Challenges
The world of Ashenfall is populated by many creatures familiar to RuneScape players, including rats, trolls, cows, and of course, dragons. However, these creatures have been transformed by the wild magic of Ashenfall, appearing as “strange, nature-fied versions of themselves with new appearances and fusions with plants, thorns, and other wild bits”. This creative approach allows Jagex to include recognizable monsters while giving them a fresh visual design appropriate to the new setting.
Dragons feature prominently in both the game’s title and narrative, with players ultimately working toward confronting the fearsome Dragon Queen. The early access release will include at least one dragon boss named General Velgar, described as a green dragon. This suggests a progression of dragon encounters leading up to the final confrontation with the Dragon Queen as the ultimate challenge.
Combat appears to combine traditional RuneScape elements with more action-oriented gameplay suited to the survival genre. Players will need to “prepare potions, craft gear and level yourself up” to face increasingly powerful foes. The emphasis on preparation and skill development maintains the RuneScape progression philosophy while adapting it to a new genre context.
Release Timeline and Development Roadmap
RuneScape: Dragonwilds is scheduled to enter early access on PC in spring 2025, with the full version tentatively targeted for early 2026. Jagex has stated they plan to remain in early access “for as long as it takes” to properly develop the game based on player feedback, showing a commitment to community-guided developmen.
The game is already listed on Steam ahead of its early access launch, allowing interested players to wishlist it. Jagex has outlined plans for regular content updates throughout the early access period, including new skills, quests, enemies, seasonal events, resources, items, and “vaults to uncover”. Additional dragons beyond General Velgar are also planned for future updates.
Looking further ahead, Jagex hopes to expand the game to consoles as part of its wider launch in 2026. The developer has also indicated that the price will increase once the game leaves early access, and that post-launch content may be released as paid DLC in the future.
Before the early access release, Jagex plans to host a deep-dive reveal of the game on Twitch on April 15, 2025, at 9:00 AM PT/Noon ET, where more details about the gameplay and potentially a specific early access release date may be announced.
RuneScape: Dragonwilds represents a bold new direction for the long-running RuneScape franchise, adapting its familiar progression systems and world to the popular survival crafting genre. By maintaining iconic elements like skill development and recognizable creatures while introducing new survival mechanics, Jagex aims to create a game that can appeal to both dedicated RuneScape fans and newcomers to the franchise.
The focus on cooperative play for smaller groups rather than massively multiplayer interactions marks a significant shift in how players will experience the RuneScape universe, potentially allowing for more focused storytelling and personalized adventure. As Jagex prepares for the early access launch this spring, with a full release targeted for 2026, RuneScape: Dragonwilds stands poised to potentially reinvigorate the franchise by bringing its established world and mechanics to an entirely new genre of gameplay.
