RuneScape Classic was, for many, the first real MMORPG. Predated in popularity only by Everquest, RuneScape Classic was the game of choice for anyone looking for a free alternative. In fact, the game still holds the record for the largest and most-updated free MMORPG. However, it has been 17 years since the creation of RuneScape Classic, and developer Jagex is looking to put the game to rest properly.

RuneScape Classic is everything that original MMORPGs were. Before World of Warcraft came along, the MMO world consisted almost entirely of never-ending grinding with no NPCs to talk to and no direction. They were the first real ‘open-world’ games, but by today’s standards, they would be seen as largely dead worlds. With no direction, the millions of players would simply wander the world of Gielinor, fighting, farming, or trying to get their fishing skill to 99, something that was notoriously difficult to do.

Since its inception, RuneScape has been a constantly evolving series. As early as 2003, just two years after the release of RuneScape Classic, RuneScape 2 was released featuring fully 3D models. For most of RuneScape Classic’s life, it has been overshadowed by the different iterations of the game that have constantly come out.

Additionally, as technology has improved and the Javascript based RuneScape Classic has aged, cheating and game-breaking bugs have become far more rampant. The game also features one of the smallest communities of any online game, as Jagex long ago closed the game to any new players, instead only allowing legacy players to continue to play the game.

In a final farewell announcement, the team explained that it simply didn’t make sense to maintain the game any longer.

Sadly enough, the farewell was less a celebration and more of an Old Yeller type of moment. Jagex has to put RuneScape Classic down for its own good as bugs and cheaters make it frail and weak. Still, it is impressive that Jagex has run and maintained servers for a game that was replaced almost immediately in the lifespan of the series.  

The company hasn’t always been viewed so favorably, however. As early as 2006, the game had ads running across free versions of the game. Any attempt to block these ads would later disable the game. Also, in 2012, RuneScape introduced the “Squeal of Fortune”, which was essentially a roulette wheel that players used real money to interact with. In 2014, the game introduced chests requiring real-life currency to open, basically creating a form of Loot Box.

Despite all the criticisms, Jagex was kind enough to keep a server running for over a decade even as the population of that server stood below 5000. But now it is time to bid RuneScape Classic goodbye.