RuneScape Reignited was canceled less than two weeks after it was announced

RuneScape Reignited, a new game mode designed for both veteran and veteran players, has been canceled less than two weeks after it was first announced, creative director Mad Ryan announced.

The news broke on October 15th in the form of an official YouTube video and blog post, where Mod Ryan revealed that Jagex's choice to cancel Reignited was in direct response to player feedback.

We received many different views from all of you and we really appreciate everyone sharing their thoughts. This is very important to us because the last time we didn't listen to player feedback, combat changed forever. And it took us more than a decade to get rid of it. Now I said on stage that we will not repeat the mistakes of the past, and I really stand by this decision, we can decide again. reads

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Obviously, we missed this, and so we're not going ahead with it. Our goal is to see RuneScape grow again, with players returning and new players joining, but never at the expense of our existing community.

That being said, that doesn't mean RuneScape is now without any exciting developments for new players looking to finally try it out for themselves. Starting December 2nd, RuneScape will be running a 10-day free trial that will allow new characters - or any characters that haven't been a member since then. June 2nd - access member RuneScape worlds and content until December 12th.

The Jagex team is also releasing the Adventure Guide and the first episode of Remastered Journey, as well as "a host of other improvements" to the game. Its 2027 roadmap is still going strong, with plugins still scheduled to launch on Monday, October 19.

"There's a lot of combat and skill content around the world. We're wrapping up ten years of stories by returning to a proper grandmaster quest. And we're rebuilding a core skill that's fundamental to the player experience: agility. All while continuing to deliver meaningful changes as part of the recovery road," said Ryan.

He continued, "...the future of RuneScape is still very bright. RuneScape will always be built for and defined by its community. So please let us know when you feel we're doing it wrong, and shout with equal vigor when you think we're doing it right."

RuneCape Reignited was announced on October 3rd during RuneFest 2026. Essentially, it's like WoW Forever, allowing new and returning players to start with a clean slate and experience the game as if it were their first time. However, a vocal portion of the game's streaming base felt that this would fragment its community, arguing that it would be better for the developers to focus on continuous updates and improvements instead – and Jagex seems to have listened to their concerns.

Similar to the top post players on the gaming subreddit, I'm very happy with this turn of events. One player wrote: "I'm glad Reignited is cancelled, it helps rebuild trust a lot. "...we're here because we love this game and we want more people to join it, because it's no secret that our player base is small and not growing much. We want new people, but we want them to join this game, not a clone of this game."

Another said: "We said no to Hero Pass and they removed it, we said no to Reignited and they removed it, we whined about [microtransactions] and they finally removed [them]. That's why the game has almost three decades of active player life."

RuneScape 4 was also announced at RuneFest. While we don't know much about it yet, we do know that it's designed for the next-gen version of the popular MMO built on the Unreal Engine. No release date has been shared yet.

Virginia (she) is the news editor for IGN. With ten years of experience reporting on games and entertainment, he has a background in the fighting game community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze.