RuneScape: Dragonwilds Launches in Early Access on Steam
In an unexpected move, Jagex has officially released RuneScape: Dragonwilds in early access on Steam, offering fans a fresh take on the RuneScape universe. First teased in 2022 and reintroduced during a livestream on April 2025, the game’s surprise launch came with minimal pre-launch marketing—fueling both curiosity and excitement in the RuneScape community.
What Is RuneScape: Dragonwilds?
RuneScape: Dragonwilds is an open-world survival crafting game that reimagines core RuneScape elements through a modern survival lens.
- While the game introduces new mechanics, such as crafting systems and dynamic exploration, it still maintains core RuneScape features like questing, skill progression, and lore-rich environments.
- The setting, Ashenfall, serves as the central zone for exploration, resource gathering, and skill development.
- Players will encounter both new enemies and familiar RuneScape creatures, reinforcing the game’s connection to its MMO roots.
Where Is the Game Set?
The world of Ashenfall is designed to balance classic high-fantasy immersion with modern survival gameplay.
- Players can engage in foraging, woodcutting, and runecrafting, which are deeply embedded in the survival loop.
- Skill development takes center stage, with systems that reward long-term progress, much like the original RuneScape.
- Magic isn’t limited to combat—it also assists with utility-based actions, such as gathering multiple resources with a single spell.
This environment enables both hardcore fans and newcomers to shape their journey through exploration, discovery, and mastery.
Developer Vision and Future Plans
According to Jesse America, Executive Producer at Jagex, Dragonwilds is only just beginning its journey through Early Access.
“We’ve been working hard to develop an entirely new type of RuneScape experience that ignites fans’ passion… while listening closely to the community to deliver an iconic open world survival crafting game.”
- The game will receive frequent content updates, with new quests, areas, and features being added based on player feedback.
- This live-service model ensures that the experience will grow over time and be shaped by its active player base.
Early Access Details: What to Expect Now
Currently in Early Access, RuneScape: Dragonwilds offers a core set of systems that will be expanded in future updates.
- Core gameplay includes resource gathering, skill training, and crafting, built around a survival progression loop.
- Combat is functional, but designed more for survival challenges than PvP or large-scale battles.
- Classic RuneScape elements like rune farming, magical enhancement, and skilling trees are fully integrated.
Expect new biomes, enemies, and mechanics as development progresses. Early adopters will play a crucial role in shaping the game’s evolution.
How Dragonwilds Fits into the RuneScape Universe
Despite being a genre shift, Dragonwilds retains key identity markers from the RuneScape franchise.
- Familiar systems like woodcutting and runecrafting ground the experience in nostalgia.
- A strong focus on quests and lore ensures continuity with the RuneScape world-building style.
- The aesthetic and tone still reflect RuneScape’s whimsical yet epic feel, despite the shift to a more gritty, survival-focused gameplay loop.
This balance allows Dragonwilds to appeal to both veteran RuneScape players and fans of modern survival crafting games like Valheim or Rust.
With a surprising launch and a promising roadmap, RuneScape: Dragonwilds could become a major expansion of the RuneScape legacy. Whether you’re in it for the crafting, the exploration, or the magic-infused combat, Ashenfall is calling.
