Jagex just announced RuneScape Reignited at RuneFest 2026, preparing to give this MMO that’s been running for over 25 years a “fresh start.” But player reactions were nowhere near what the studio imagined. The original plan was to launch a brand-new Reignited character type with a fresh economy system and leaderboards, letting new and returning players experience RuneScape from scratch. However, existing players worry that their characters, gear, and achievements accumulated over years will instantly become marginalized. Now Jagex has publicly apologized and announced they’ll reconsider the entire Reignited plan.
New Players Love It, But Veterans Feel Pushed Out?
The issue is that Reignited isn’t just opening a new server—it’s building an entirely new character progression and economy system. Jagex originally planned for Reignited to coexist with Veteran characters, with both able to exist in the same world, but with economy and progression content separated. Character types also couldn’t transfer between them. This means veteran players can keep playing their existing characters, but if they want to join Reignited, it’s essentially starting over. To make things worse, Reignited characters require a separate membership fee, though the first 10 days after launch will offer free access to member content.
Players’ Biggest Fear: The Entire Community Gets Split in Two!
The reason for player backlash is pretty straightforward: if a lot of players migrate to Reignited, won’t the original Veteran world become increasingly empty? Will years of accumulated achievements become worthless? Even non-tradeable items and cosmetics that only work on Veteran characters might make players feel trapped in the “old era.” When Jagex compiled player feedback, they acknowledged concerns about community division, Veteran characters gradually shrinking, and the sense that the studio seems to prioritize new players over veterans. Not to mention having to pay membership fees again for a new character type—it’s like salt on the wound.
Jagex: We Definitely Messed Up
Facing this wave of backlash, Jagex has clearly softened their stance. The studio directly acknowledged: “We made you existing players feel like you’re no longer our priority.” They admitted this was entirely their fault and will now re-examine Reignited. Moving forward, the studio will look at how to give Veteran players’ accumulated progress more meaningful recognition and preservation, while finding ways to prevent the community from being forcibly split. They’ll also reassess the membership system. Jagex hasn’t announced specific changes yet, but one thing’s for sure—that original “new players start fresh, veterans play by themselves” proposal can’t be rolled out as-is.