Jagex CEO Jon Bellamy is willing to do whatever it takes to ensure fans are still enjoying RuneScape in 25 years, even if it means losing money.
Bellamy spoke to The Game Business at Gamescom about the future of the venerable game, and why its modern iteration, RuneScape 3, hasn’t been resonating with players in the same way as Old School RuneScape, its retro-styled counterpart.
In fact, Old School RuneScape only exists to fill a void left by the shifting aesthetic identity of the modern version of the game, and has been coexisting and evolving independently from the modern version ever since, and even consistently has more players.
However, Bellamy says Jagex has zeroed in on what drove players away from the new game, and they’re looking to deal with some of those to bring them back, even if it means taking some short-term financial losses.
Short-Term Losses For Long-Term Gains
According to Bellamy, in player surveys conducted by Jagex, what they found was that a major element that pushed players away was the modern game’s implementation of microtransactions back in 2012.
Their surveys found that, if they were to “wind back” their approach to microtransactions, or even “augment it to make it more sustainable and healthier,” at least some of those players could potentially be won back.
Notably, Jagex has a very firm no-microtransactions rule in place for Old School RuneScape, and, according to Bellamy, that “integrity” is both a key element of that version of the game and what they want to bring to RuneScape 3.
To that end, Jagex has been conducting some experiments with the microtransaction system in the newer game, even going so far as temporarily removing it completely to see how players respond. However, Bellamy admits that, whatever they eventually end up doing with them, it will inevitably impact revenue, even if it’s better for the game in the long term.
We probably won’t maintain the revenue that we currently are when we make these changes. That’s the truth. But equally, if we’re taking a 10 or 15 or 25-year view, some short-term pain is probably worth the restoration of the game if we can get to that point. – Jon Bellamy
Ultimately, Bellamy’s goal with the RuneScape series, including both versions of the MMO and the more recent Dragonwilds, is for it to be “the second biggest MMO franchise in the Western world,” if not the biggest, by making small improvements across the board over the next few years.
It’s a lofty height to be shooting for, considering how competitive the MMO space is, and Bellamy is making some big moves despite that he only took over as CEO of Jagex earlier this year and has already run into some internal controversy.
Old School RuneScape has undeniably been a big success for Jagex, so hopefully they’ll be able to draw some of RuneScape 3’s lost playerbase back with the changes they have planned to its monetization.
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Author: 360 Technology Group
