Jagex Confirms RuneScape 4 Is in Development After Growing Out of a Dragonwilds Expansion

Jagex used the keynote of RuneFest 2026 to confirm that its next major RuneScape game is already in the works. Currently going by the working title RS4, the project is being built in Unreal Engine, marking the first time Jagex has used the engine for a mainline, numbered RuneScape MMO rather than a spin-off like RuneScape: Dragonwilds. Jagex describes it as the fourth generation of its flagship game, following RuneScape, RuneScape 2, and RuneScape 3.

From Dragonwilds Expansion to Its Own Game

RS4 did not start out as a new MMO at all. According to Jagex, the project began life as a paid expansion for RuneScape: Dragonwilds, the studio’s survival crafting spin-off, originally pencilled in for release around 2027. As the scope of that expansion grew during development, with the team leaning into player requests for a more traditional MMO take on the setting, Jagex decided the project deserved to stand on its own rather than ship as add-on content, and RS4 was born.

RuneScape: Dragonwilds, the survival game RS4 grew out of before becoming its own project.

A Working Title, Not a Final One

Jagex has been careful not to confirm “RuneScape 4” as the game’s actual name just yet. As the studio put it, “RS4 works pretty well for now,” since it marks the franchise’s fourth generation while Old School RuneScape and RuneScape: Dragonwilds continue to run as their own separate games.

Still Years Away

Beyond the engine switch and the Dragonwilds connection, Jagex has not shared a release window, platforms, or a business model for RS4, and the studio has stressed that the game is still a few years from launching. More details about its world, systems, and the team building it are promised for next year.

Part of a Bigger RuneFest

The reveal capped a packed RuneFest 2026, held October 3 to 4 at Birmingham’s NEC as part of RuneScape’s 25th anniversary celebrations, with attendance roughly doubling to about 6,000 fans compared to last year’s event. RuneScape: Dragonwilds itself, which passed 1 million copies sold during its first year in Early Access, remains on track for a full global launch later in 2026, while Old School RuneScape has its own packed roadmap for the months ahead.

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Picture Source: RuneScape, RuneScape: Dragonwilds