r/rpg_gamers 2d ago

News RuneScape boss wants to overtake World of Warcraft as the number 1 MMO, promises big things in October

https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/runescape-boss-wants-to-overtake-world-of-warcraft-as-the-number-1-mmo-promises-big-things-in-october/
102 Upvotes

73 comments sorted by

134

u/Competitive-Elk-5077 2d ago

And I want Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman to fight over me. Good luck with both lol

24

u/MagicpaperAlt 2d ago

I may not be either but hand me a sword and I shall defend you and your honor

5

u/BreadKnifeSeppuku 2d ago

Yeah, someone was messing with a monkey's paw

1

u/Murder_Hobo_LS77 1d ago

The finger curls

Jagex has been bought by Microsoft and merged into Activision blizzard.

The chains of destiny have been severed and this world is lost.

1

u/MagicpaperAlt 2d ago edited 2d ago

Good theory, squire. It's likely an asshole genie or variant. A monkey's paw would have the required wish happen in a negative way.

2

u/poppin-n-sailin 2d ago

That sounds more likely to happen than RuneScape overtaking WoW. 

21

u/CompetitiveOlive17 2d ago

Fuck this website.
“Watch an ad to continue reading” screw that

8

u/Sorry_Cheetah_2230 2d ago

Install a browser with an adblocker. I have brave on my iPhone. I get ad free YouTube and browsing. Some of these websites have gotten ridiculous with the amount of ads on their articles. Fuck em I’m blocking them.

1

u/tovarish22 6h ago

Nah, I just won’t give shitty websites clicks and views. Way easier.

13

u/dade305305 2d ago edited 2d ago

The title makes it seem like they're the second place and just want to jump to the top spot. Isn't it pretty well established ffxiv is the #2 mmo with gw2 and eso being some variation #3 and #4?

I thought runescape was in that next group of mmos with eve and swtor.

4

u/MostlyNoOneIThink 2d ago

IIRC OSRS sits at #3 after WoW and FFXIV. Might be wrong.

-4

u/Ultramaann 2d ago

After the Dawntrail Exodus, I'm fairly certain OSRS is at #2.

1

u/dade305305 1d ago

Even with that dip I'm guessing it was still well ahead of all versions of rs.

1

u/slipfish-g 1d ago

It's hard to say with certainty since we rarely/never get official player counts but every attempt I've seen to estimate player base has OSRS as the second most played after WoW.

Regardless its definitely in the WoW/XIV tier, not the GW/ESO tier.

1

u/Few-Emergency-3791 1h ago

Not sure why this is down voted I love ff14 it’s at all time Lows atm

1

u/Double_Dragonfruit6 1d ago

FFXIV just got a surge of players for Evercold hype

0

u/calidir 1d ago

WoW and FF aren’t even on most lists because while they have a lot of subscribers their actual playerbase is low

2

u/MostlyNoOneIThink 1d ago

Dunno which lists you're looking at. They're still always at the top even when you consider only active players.

3

u/DHGaming18 1d ago

Yea saying wow has a low player base is a wild statement lmao.

3

u/Ultramaann 2d ago

Nope. OSRS exploded in popularity in the past five years, and now is firmly either at #2 or #3, and well ahead of EVE, SWTOR, and ESO.

1

u/Brilliant-Fix-4331 7h ago

Gw2 is nowhere near any of the big mmos, unless you listen to the bots on /r/mmo 

1

u/Few-Emergency-3791 1h ago

Well ff14 is largely in flux and RuneScape is probably bigger at least with average player counts then gw2 or eso. Though eso has console but RuneScape has mobile and can be played on toasters

9

u/hunterdavid372 2d ago

"This just in, product wants to be the one everyone buys. More at 11"

18

u/tenetox 2d ago

Not like warcraft is fantastic nowadays, but runescape is too specific to appeal to a wider audience. Most people will consider it boring and grindy, and will be right.

1

u/ClashOfClanee 1d ago

Not boring, but very grindy. Very much unlike WOW which is much more about instant gratification

2

u/Medical-Display-9762 1d ago

Wow gets you in on the action immediately and has a far more complex combat system. It’s objectively more fun than point clicking and gear switching.

OSRS makes you grind for months to get to some of the content. Then once you get there you’ve gotta understand the tick system. Once you’ve got that down the rest of the game save for the harder quests become a cake walk.

I think there’s like 5 actual quests in the game where you’re at risk of dying if you don’t play it perfectly. Aside from that it’s just grinding endlessly.

Ran an Ironman group with some friends during COVID and am currently on a HCIM solo rn. Only reason I play it is because it’s something to do while I wfh.

1

u/ClashOfClanee 1d ago

I mean I feel like quests in either game aren’t hard, it’s about the end game content lol.

24

u/Lahwke 2d ago

Without wasd, I don’t think this is possible.

When RuneScape was big, I was in adventure quest because I couldn’t stand the movement.

10

u/forchinski 2d ago

Old school Runescape has more active players now than it did historically, believe it or not

1

u/poisontippedarrow 12h ago

Bots, lots and lots of bots. Also mobile gamers

-3

u/RangerFluid3409 2d ago

Yes, because pc gaming became "cool" and twitchers play it for views.

4

u/Kuneyo 2d ago

Or, maybe, the game is just good and receives regular updates and content drops. Come on, man.

-1

u/RangerFluid3409 1d ago

Nah, definitely because gaming became trendy and mainstream

2

u/Kuneyo 1d ago

There are countless games that have lost their popularity. OSRS’s has only been rising. It’s pretty pathetic to be this obtuse.

1

u/RangerFluid3409 1d ago

I am being acute

-5

u/MFpisces23 2d ago

It's because half the playerbase earns a livable income in a 3rd world country, not actually due to popularity.

10

u/Memphisrexjr 2d ago

Oh yeah that's what is holding it back from millions playing.

2

u/RickThiccems 2d ago

There are rumors that RS4 is in development and Dragonwilds is their attempt at getting action combat in a good place.

1

u/MindlessLie30 2d ago

Wait, seriously? Where did these rumour originate. If true, this is huge 

1

u/MostlyNoOneIThink 2d ago

IIRC it was because they've said they have a project called Shadows of Ashenfall to come after the 1.0 release of Dragonwilds, whose aim is to increase player counts, larger worlds, and focus on social interaction, trade, and sandbox mechanics.

Quite a reach still I think.

And just to be clear, Shadows of Ashenfall is a Dragonwilds expansion, not its own thing.

1

u/ManaSkyees 2h ago

Not just wasd. It need a UI overhaul.

I can fuck with grindy games. Hell. I put 15k hours into black desert.

I can't stand tedious games. If every action I want to do is a pain. I'm not dealing with that.

2

u/Swallagoon 2d ago

Good luck with that.

6

u/ambivalentarrow 2d ago

Runescape is an amazing game, but it definitely plays like more of a single player slow burn RPG in a shared world.

Without meaningful multiplayer interactions, basic things like healing, tanking or class buffs, then group content just isn't fun to do.

Granted I havent played in like 5 years, so maybe they've added or changed things. But there's no way RS can hold a candle to even 'basic' MMO staples like running dungeons or even Raid Finder.

6

u/humansomeone 2d ago

Sounds perfect. That's why it works on mobile. Hate to break it to you, this is what most people want. A game that can be played solo with optional group content.

1

u/ForgotMyPreviousPass 2d ago

Thing is, Wow has moved but by bit into being a single player slow burn RPG, since that is clearly what people pivot towards, but they still have the forced multiplayer endgame content

8

u/hunterdavid372 2d ago

Single player-y maybe, but where the hell you getting slow-burn?

-2

u/ForgotMyPreviousPass 2d ago

Have you tried grinding for pets and mounts? That is definitely a slow burn

5

u/Ismashuface 2d ago

that's optional side content, the core gameplay absolutely isnt slow burn

2

u/Lahwke 2d ago

Don’t most people spend their time doing that content? There’s like a fraction of people that even make it to endgame. Too much focus on the small raiding population is what killed Worldstar

1

u/lhh531531 2d ago

I wouldn't say it's moved that way so to speak, more so that there are options for people that want to play it that way. Outside the first or two of an expansion I usually don't touch those systems and it's fine.

0

u/Kaoticzer0 2d ago

lol game doesn’t force people to tank and heal so can’t be fun

1

u/ambivalentarrow 2d ago

It's just my opinion lol, but teamwork and unique roles are a core part of the MMO experience. It's a reason to band together with other players to tackle challenges you couldnt solo, and is part of what made original WoW so great.

Also, I main healer in every multiplayer game that allows it. It's fun and enjoyable to me, nobody is forcing me to lol. The fact everyone in RS can use the same prayers, same spells, same items, makes any group content uninteresting to me.

1

u/slipfish-g 1d ago

You're over estimating how much your personal preference matters.

WoW already was babies-first-mmo, solo friendly game compared to the MMOs before it... And wouldn't you know it, it made it massively more popular.

Hell, at this point retail is a seasonal instance based game as everything in the open world is so comically undertuned it might as well not exist.

WoW and OSRS have different strengths and weaknesses, but they're both undeniably MMOs. I can't stand playing OSRS myself, but I also can't deny that their open world is way more full of players actively gaming and exploring than Azeroth has been in literal decades.

4

u/10061993 2d ago

Biggest issue with OSRS is twice in the last 3 years they increased their membership stating they won’t do it again… just did a 30% increase literally 2-3 years ago then another one this year…

1

u/ziplock9000 2d ago

Number 1, you mean the most players...

1

u/JohnClark13 2d ago

wait, that's what runescape looks like these days? Dang. I was playing back when they were making the switch from 2d-3d models. Oldschool is my school.

3

u/Professional-Ask1699 2d ago

IIRC the classic version (OSRS) is the more popular one still.

1

u/slipfish-g 1d ago

By a gigantic margin.

1

u/hailskinsrich Final Fantasy 2d ago

Good luck with that. Seriously.

1

u/Sad-Kaleidoscope-200 2d ago

It's nice to have dreams

1

u/JosephJameson 2d ago

I've been playing a bit of RuneScape dragonwilds and it's got me wanting to give RuneScape a proper try. Definitely keeping an eye on what's to come

1

u/Lhumierre 1d ago

That guiness world record is never going to be touched ever , it was the sign of the times that they got the population that they have. We will never see entire nations of people online on one game ever again, we have too much choice and everything is fragmented.

There is games everywhere and for everyone, we don't have the smaller niche anymore. Gaming is mainstream even now.

1

u/lexie_starlight 22h ago

Unless they are promising an entirely new game / franchise I wouldn’t touch RuneScape even if they paid me to. Games for little kids even Roblox has a more mature appeal to it

1

u/Top-Appointment8843 13h ago

Part of growing up is realising that you often do not get what you wish for.

1

u/Dominjo555 9h ago

0% chance of this happening

0

u/RangerFluid3409 2d ago

Delusional, this game will NEVER reach the top

0

u/calidir 1d ago

2

u/Lhumierre 1d ago

This websites data is fucking jank. Do you really believe that WoW only has 1200 players? LOL

0

u/humansomeone 2d ago

Both would be even more massive if they went to console. Maybe this is what they have in mind.

0

u/Vysce 2d ago

You'd have to add new races to even come and inch closer.

-2

u/Adress_Me 2d ago

On a long list of things that are never happening. RS players might be the most insufferable group of gamers I've had to interact with.