RuneScape Coming to Mobile With Full Cross-Platform PC Play

Just when you thought Runescape was about to sink into obscurity, Jagex announces another huge innovation to reinvigorate the community and lure in new players. Today, Jagex announced that RuneScape and Old School RuneScape will be making their way to mobile and tablets, and players will be able to play on PC and on mobile completely seamlessly. Starting this winter with Old School Runescape, players will be able to take their adventures on the go whenever they'd like. Accounts, characters, and progress will sync perfectly between the PC and mobile versions, with full interoperable play between the two platforms.

"As a MMO player, you ideally want to play at any time of the day or night no matter where you are," Jagex senior product director Neil McClarty said. "We know that our players' time is precious, and that's why want to give all RuneScape players, both present and past, the opportunity to play RuneScape on the go. The fact that they'll be able to play on their PC, leave the PC, and pick up their mobile and continue playing where you left your character will be a big deal for our players – there really will be no need for any XP waste."

Jagex thinks that this change is a monumental one, and could change the way that future MMO developers approach their games. With MMORPGs being so time consuming and grind heavy, the ability to, say, lay in bed for an hour before you go to sleep and get in a little extra questing could go a huge way to improving players' overall experience.

"This is a real step change for MMORPGs and a signal of Jagex's intent to continue to push the boundaries of live games," Jagex COO Phil Mansell said. "The RuneScape titles will become the first mainstream and established Western MMORPGs on mobile in full and the first to deliver interoperable play between PC and mobile platforms. We believe in taking our games to wherever our players want them; recent player surveys showed an overwhelming 90% of active players and 64% of former players telling us of their very high intent-to-play on mobile."

We know that Old School RuneScape will be the first to reap the benefits of these advancements this winter, with RuneScape to follow soon thereafter. You can learn more and register interest on the official site.