Jagex’s co-op survivalbox RuneScape Dragonwilds was the darling of the industry for a hot minute when it was announced and launched into early access in the span of a few weeks back in the spring. Though the player numbers have fallen off sharply since then – from a peak concurrency of 52,000 down to 4,000 in recent weeks – development on the game does continue.
Last week, the studio said that it didn’t expect the game to “do as well as it did,” which put the team in the spot of reacting, slowly, to the hype, instead of being out in front of it. “[W]hat we learned from this is that we should have spoken to you a lot sooner,” the devs say. But they’re doing that now, and they’ve committed to the game.
“We will not say goodbye to this project (even if our silence suggested otherwise,) and all of us at Jagex stand behind our conviction that there is more Dragonwilds to build. More RuneScape adventure, more skills, more dragon-slaying, more quests and equally, further evolution of the game itself. At this point I cannot give everything away, but the intent is for Dragonwilds to be around for many more years, and to grow into a hobby game worth your time.”
Specifically, Jagex says it’s on track for a 1.0 launch in late 2026, with more hires to expand the game to more platforms and languages – and quarterly content. That means the magic skill launching today, the ranged skill in September, and a massive “expansion” in December that adds more map, crafting, gear, and farming. Indeed, there are also three major updates already mapped out for 2026 ahead of the launch; more zones, fishing, bosses, progression, story, weather effects, the prayer skill, base-building, agility, improved tutorials, a skill cap bump, and gobs more are all on deck.
Beyond that, it kinda sounds like Jagex is planning to MMO-ify the game even more with something it’s calling Shadows of Ashenfall in 2027. “We are exploring ways to expand the core Dragonwilds survival experience with higher player counts, larger worlds, exciting new ways to engage with dragons, and a focus on social interaction, trade, and sandbox fun.”
Players should definitely check out today’s 0.8 patch notes, which include building health, a coziness system, a hard difficulty setting, and of course, the aforementioned magic skill. Bonus: “Dirty water will no longer spawn at the temple when your inventory is full.”
