RuneScape 4 is a new Unreal Engine MMO which reportedly grew out of a planned Dragonwilds expansion, though it's still a long way off

A fourth entry in the RuneScape series of MMOs has been announced by developers Jagex at this year's RuneFest. It's going by the obvious placeholder name of RuneScape 4 for now, is being developed using the Unreal Engine, and is still a decent way off.

"Still early in development, the as-yet-unnamed title will bring the world of Gielinor to life in Unreal Engine," Jagex wrote of the next RuneScape. "Combining the depth, freedom and community-led spirit that have defined RuneScape for 25 years with the technology and game design possibilities of today."

Jagex's vice president of studios and next-gen development Jesse America revealed in a prebrief attended by MMORPG.com that this new MMO grew out of a planned 2027 expansion for survival spin-off RuneScape: Dragonwilds. The pitch has evolved into taking the worldstate or setting established by Dragonwilds and filling it with typical MMO features like persistent servers and trade hubs to form a fresh mainline entry.

"RS4 will be set in Gielinor, in the Sixth Age," Jagex confirmed in a post introducing the game. "But we're beginning somewhere that RuneScape players have only recently started to discover - and that is Ashenfall. An area first explored in RuneScape: Dragonwilds, and a landmass to the north-east of the Gielinor.

"RS4 will take place years after the events of Dragonwilds and the destruction of the Dragon Queen Kuldra. Time has passed, the world has moved on, and Ashenfall has changed with it. But Ashenfall is only the beginning. Our ambition is for this adventure to grow far beyond Ashenfall over time, moving into places you know and love, as well as opening up new places and stories across Gielinor."

They added that this new MMO is "not a replacement" for any of their existing RuneScape games and forks, instead being designed to "sit alongside them as an additional way to experience RuneScape and the world of Gielinor". The hope's to "build on the best of the tech development [the studio] learned on Dragonwilds, and the best of the community co-development [they've] learned through RuneScape and Old School".

RuneFest also saw Jagex announce that RuneScape Reignited, a "new permanent character type" offering a chance to start fresh and see the game's world through a revamped lens, will debut on December 2nd.