Jagex has announced the fourth RuneScape MMO, RuneScape 4, at RuneFest 2026. The project’s official working title is RS4, and Jagex describes it as an entirely new RuneScape MMORPG built in Unreal Engine and set in Gielinor. The studio confirmed the game “is still a few years away.”
Jagex said the RS4 name may not be final. “That isn’t necessarily the name we’ll eventually settle on, but this is our fourth generation RuneScape project, so RS4 works pretty well for now.” The team chose to reveal the MMO early because “for 25 years, RuneScape has been shaped by its players,” and the studio wants to “build with you, not just for you.”
How RS4 fits the wider RuneScape franchise
According to Jagex, RS4 is not a replacement for any existing game. “Those games have their own dedicated teams, exciting roadmaps and continued investment,” the studio explained. Instead, RuneScape 4 will sit alongside RuneScape, Old School RuneScape and RuneScape: Dragonwilds as an additional way to experience the world of Gielinor.
Jagex said the new MMO will draw on previous work. “We want to build on the best of the tech development we’ve learned on Dragonwilds, and the best of the community co-development we’ve learned through RuneScape and Old School, and apply those principles to something new.” The studio also stated that “integrity and permanent progression will be central to our design principles.”
Ashenfall start and long-term Gielinor plans
RS4 will be set in Gielinor in the Sixth Age. Its starting region is Ashenfall, “a landmass to the north-east of the Gielinor” and an area first explored in RuneScape: Dragonwilds. Jagex confirmed the new game will take place years after the events of Dragonwilds and the destruction of the Dragon Queen Kuldra.
The studio’s ambition is for the adventure to grow beyond Ashenfall over time. Jagex wants to move into familiar places and open up new places and stories across Gielinor. Jagex said it will “tell you much more next year about the world, the game, the team building it and, importantly, how you can start getting involved.”
The reveal also coincides with RuneScape’s 25th anniversary. The same RuneFest Summit also introduced RuneScape Reignited, a new permanent character type for the existing RuneScape MMO.
