RuneScape’s Treasure Hunter microtransactions will quickly be no extra, after the sport’s neighborhood overwhelmingly voted to see it and different related microtransactions eliminated. Developer Jagex is asking it a “new period” for the MMORPG.
In a video asserting the choice, Jagex CEO Jon Bellamy (recognized to the neighborhood as Mod North) mentioned “the neighborhood has spoken,” and as such, Treasure Hunter will likely be eliminated on January 19, 2026.
The function sees gamers granted keys every day that can be utilized to open what are successfully loot packing containers containing XP, gold, and extra. Whereas gamers are granted numerous keys at no cost every day, keys can be purchased for actual cash. Greater than 120,000 gamers voted to see Treasure Hunter and different microtransactions eliminated.
That’s, nonetheless, simply the beginning of Jagex’s plans. Bellamy mentioned on the identical day Treasure Hunter is eliminated, Jagex will even considerably scale back the quantity of “gameplay-impacting MTX throughout the board.” That features the power to buy objects that grant direct XP, in addition to different objects like Proteans, Dummies, and extra, North mentioned.
“January 19 is the beginning of a brand new period for RuneScape, powered by a shared need to see this recreation develop for many years to return,” North mentioned.
Subsequent 12 months, Jagex will launch an “integrity roadmap” that may handle core points surrounding the sport, together with the consumer interface and consumer expertise, the sport’s visible id, and extra. Extra particulars will likely be shared on January 19.
Eradicating Treasure Hunter has been a very long time coming. In June, Bellamy famous in a video that its method to microtransactions was “harming RuneScape” and said “it is time that we took motion. Jagex then experimented with numerous totally different adjustments to in-game purchases. In September, Bellamy mentioned in an interview that Jagex “most likely will not preserve the income that we at the moment are” when making adjustments to microtransactions.
“That is the reality,” Bellamy mentioned. “However equally, if we’re taking a ten or 15 or 25-year view, some short-term ache might be definitely worth the restoration of the sport if we are able to get to that time.”
Jagex’s adherence to a neighborhood vote for the removing of Treasure Hunter is much like the way it handles the a lot much less microtransaction-heavy Outdated College RuneScape. Launched in 2013 and based mostly on the 2007 model of RuneScape, Outdated College Runescape is now way more well-liked than the extra fashionable RuneScape (aka RuneScape 3). New options are solely added to Outdated College RuneScape if 70% of its neighborhood votes for them.
Because of this, Outdated College RuneScape is extra well-liked than ever earlier than, and even broke participant quantity information earlier this 12 months with greater than 241,000 concurrent gamers. The MMO’s first new talent as voted on by the neighborhood, Sailing, is about to launch November 19.