Jagex have something to celebrate today as their free to play adventure Runescape turns twelve.
The game launched on 4th January 2001 and is one of the biggest online games ever. In the last twelve months has seen 486 million hours of gaming, and since the game launched there has been 200 million accounts created. A number that is certainly not to be sniffed at.
The game has undergone many upgrades and changes since its launch, as you’s expect from a game that’s been going this long. Mark Ogilvie, RuneScape Design Director added:
“2012 was filled to the brim with game updates both large and small. Last year saw flurries of graphical reworks of the popular areas of the game, bigger and better boss monsters, an overhaul of the combat system, new starting areas as well as the challenging task of introducing voice acting into the game. For me, the highlight of the year was undoubtedly witnessing the creation of the 200th Million RuneScape account, which secured the game’s place as the most played online game of all time. But 2013 is going to be even better.”
There’s still more to come as Jagex outline plans for 2013 which will see an improved pure HTML5-powered version, two brand new skills, a Grandmaster-level quest, Wilderness Warbands, a Construction skill rework, an improved grouping system, and the ability to customise the game’s interface.
Birthday celebrations are taking place in-game with twelve player events planned for this weekend. More details can be found on the Runsescape site.
