RuneScape’s CEO makes a bold claim, saying the team is aiming to beat World of Warcraft and become the biggest MMO on the planet

Few MMORPGs have lasted as long or even longer than the iconic World of Warcraft, and one such active MMO that predates it is RuneScape, which recently celebrated its 25th anniversary.

What started as a humble little game to play with friends online grew into a massive franchise, spawning three games (Old School RuneScape, RuneScape, RuneScape: Dragonwilds) with over 250,000 concurrent players for just the original Old School RuneScape alone.

Yet, it's always been seen as the No. 2 runner-up of top-rated MMORPGs compared to the juggernaut that is World of Warcraft. However, Jon Bellamy, the CEO of RuneScape's studio, Jagex: The RuneScape Company, has recently stated in an interview with The Game Business YouTube channel that he plans to change that.

Jon Bellamy proclaims that, and I quote, "The dream is that we’re not the number two biggest MMO brand in the world; we’re number one. There’s a big old gap between us and number one, but if we get it right, we know we can make headway."

He continues, “It’s lofty and ambitious, but if you’re going to set lofty and ambitious goals, why not swing for the top? So, that’s the number one goal.”

Jagex is already working towards Jon Bellamy's lofty ambitions by cutting out RuneScape's unpopular microtransactions like the Treasure Hunter perk, while at the same time improving its gameplay systems to remove "much of the clunkiness and pain within the game", according to Jon.

Additionally, Jagex is planning to release RuneScape's survival spin-off, RuneScape: Dragonwilds, on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5, and reveal big news updates for the RuneScape franchise as a whole on October 3, 2026, at RuneFest in hopes of winning back fans who have long since quit the game while bringing in new fans at the same time.

Windows Central's take

Declaring that you want to be the No.1 MMO in the world is no easy task, as many big-name titles from Final Fantasy XIV to Star Wars: The Old Republic have tried and failed to overthrow the…