RuneScape
RuneScape is a 2001 MMORPG developed by Jagex, a browser-based online adventure that reached an enormous global audience and once held records as one of the most popular free online games. Set in the medieval fantasy world of Gielinor, it lets players pursue combat, crafting, and questing with remarkable freedom and no fixed class.
The game was accessible directly through a web browser using Java, lowering the barrier to entry dramatically, and offered a huge range of skills to train, from mining and smithing to fishing, magic, and cooking, alongside hundreds of quests and both cooperative and player-versus-player combat. Its open, goal-driven progression, in which players set their own long-term ambitions, and its sprawling ever-expanding world kept players engaged for years and built one of the largest communities in online gaming, supported by a free tier and a paid membership.
RuneScape continues today in both a modernized version and Old School RuneScape, a community-favourite recreation of an earlier era. It remains a hugely popular and enduring online institution.
Play it today
Modern alternatives to RuneScape, with the devices they run on and their price. Ordered editorially by how well each one stands in for the original, with community votes weighted in as they accumulate.
Prices, platform availability and Steam Deck compatibility can change at any time. Always check the store page before buying.
Old School RuneScape
Free + in-app purchasesThe community-favored 2007-based version, still updated with new content.
Old School RuneScape runs on PC, Mac, Linux, iPhone, iPad, Android phone, Android tablet, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch. It is Steam Deck Playable.
Brighter Shores Indie
Free + in-app purchasesAn indie MMO from RuneScape's creator with classic skill-based progression.
Brighter Shores runs on PC. Not available on Mac, Linux, iPhone, iPad, Android phone, Android tablet, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch. It is Steam Deck Playable.
RuneScape
Free + in-app purchasesThe modern continuation of the world with expanded systems.
RuneScape runs on PC. Not available on Mac, Linux, iPhone, iPad, Android phone, Android tablet, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch. It is Steam Deck Playable.
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