Jagex announces a new survival game set in the Runescape universe

Jagex, the company behind the massively multiplayer online game (MMO) Runescape, has announced Dragonwilds, a new open-world survival spinoff set in the same universe. Expect to see familiar monsters, skills, and activities like cooking and mining mixed survival staples such as base building.

The team emphasized that this will not be an MMO but rather a four-player co-op game built on the tenets of what made Runescape popular - grinding skills and a progression system that rewards time and effort. 

Jagex CEO Jon Bellamy told GamesRadar (via Yahoo Tech) that they've built "an entirely new team filled with industry veterans" to make sure Dragonwilds "sits naturally in the Runescape franchise" and is being made for "our biggest fans and entirely new players alike." 

The team wants to make a game "worthy of wearing the Runescape name." Your main objective will be to slay the Dragon Queen, and you do that by gathering, building, and, of course, grinding skills that aid you in your quest. The game is set in Ashenfall, a new location in Gielinor, and an uncharted continent shrouded by Anima. 

The game will have two regions and up to five unique biomes to explore, with more potentially being added post-launch in Early Access. Even though it doesn't take place in the same location as Runescape, players should expect to see some familiar landmarks and enemies but twisted with Anima, a source of magic in the Runescape universe.     

Like Old-school Runescape (OSRS), Jagex promises a community-driven feedback loop that will actively shape updates to the game when it launches on Steam Early Access in Spring.