RuneScape 4: what the RuneFest 2026 reveal actually announced
The new Unreal Engine MMO, its Dragonwilds origins, Ashenfall setting and the questions still open after the reveal.
A separate RuneScape MMO
Jagex revealed a new RuneScape MMO at RuneFest 2026. It is being built in Unreal Engine and is currently called RuneScape 4, although that is a working title and the final name could change.
The announcement describes it as a separate game developed alongside RuneScape, Old School RuneScape and Dragonwilds. Jagex said those existing games would keep their own teams, roadmaps and investment. I still worry about what happens to those games if players move to RS4. RuneScape 2 is the comparison that comes to mind.
How a Dragonwilds expansion became an MMO
Dragonwilds producer Jesse America told Polygon that the project began as an expansion called Shadows of Ashenfall. As features such as persistent servers and player trading developed, it grew into its own MMO.
The project draws on technology developed for Dragonwilds. Jagex also wants players involved through ideas, testing and feedback. Integrity and permanent progression are two of the stated design principles.
Ashenfall and the wider world
RS4 begins in Ashenfall, the landmass northeast of Gielinor introduced in Dragonwilds. The setting is in the Sixth Age, years after the events of Dragonwilds and the destruction of the Dragon Queen Kuldra.
Ashenfall has changed in that time. Jagex wants to expand beyond it into familiar parts of Gielinor as well as new places and stories.
There was no release date in the reveal
Development was still at an early stage when Jagex announced the project, and the team said the game was a few years away. More information about the world, game, team and player involvement was planned for 2027.
You can register interest through the official RS4 page.
The questions players were asking
Some players were excited to see RuneScape rebuilt with newer technology. Others hoped it would keep the tougher elements of Old School, or worried that it could lose what makes RuneScape feel different from other MMOs.
For people who have spent years building an account, the question is what happens to that progress if they eventually switch to RS4. Some players also worry about another Evolution of Combat situation.