Jagex says a fourth Runescape MMO, working title RS4, is in development on Unreal Engine. The announcement landed at RuneFest 2026, where the company used its big annual show to sketch out the next phase of its long-running MMORPG business.
The new project matters because Jagex has not officially called it Runescape 4, even as RS4 becomes the shorthand for a full-scale follow-up built on newer technology and design. For players, that signals a separate development track rather than another routine content update.
RuneFest 2026 Sets the Pace
RuneFest 2026 framed the news as part of a wider slate for the franchise. Jagex also announced Runescape Reignited, set for December 2, and described it as a defining moment for the 25-year-old game. The relaunch is aimed at lapsed players and existing players at the same time, which is why the company bundled it with a fresh economy, a Remastered Journey and Adventure Guide, and brand-new hi scores.
December 2 to December 12 will bring full Reignited Access without membership, giving players a short window to test the new version before the access period closes. That is the nearest practical checkpoint for anyone deciding whether to return, because it arrives before the broader 2027 planning starts to land.
Charlie White Joins The Adaptation
Charlie White, known online as MoistCr1TiKaL, was named as Jagex’s partner on a new Runescape animated adaptation with Lyrical Media. That puts a recognizable creator into the company’s expansion plans at the same time it is trying to refresh the game itself, a useful move for a franchise that now has to serve both nostalgia and recruitment.
Wesley, IGN Managing Editor, was also tied to the coverage around the announcement, underscoring how much of RuneFest 2026 was built around new directions rather than recycled nostalgia. Jagex kept the messaging broad on format, but the partnership itself suggests the adaptation is meant to sit alongside the games, not replace them.
Unreal Engine And RS4
RS4 matters because Unreal Engine places the fourth RuneScape MMO on a different technical path from the current live game. Jagex said the project is built to use the latest technology and design, which makes this less like a patch cycle and more like a foundation-level reset for the franchise’s future.
That also creates the story’s main complication: the company has a fourth RuneScape MMO in motion, but it has not officially branded it RuneScape 4. In practice, that leaves room for Jagex to shape the name later while still signaling to players that a next-generation MMO is already on the board.
The 2027 Roadmap Ahead
This month, the long-awaited Plugin API launches, and players will get an early hands-on with it ahead of the official release. Jagex also called its 2027 content the biggest roadmap in the game’s history, with Hoard of Dragons arriving in January, City of Gnomes continuing the gnome storyline, and Secrets of Karamja adding a new endgame raid.
October 20 brings The Fractured Archive, and Hardcore Worlds follows on November 4. With RuneScape: Dragonwilds also adding The Luminance in December this year and then the Blood Crystal Saga in 2027, the immediate takeaway is straightforward: Jagex is running parallel release tracks now, and RS4 is the long game while the rest of the schedule keeps the live audience busy.
