It really wasn’t making any money, but we had put so much work in at this point that there were a lot of people taking part,” said Andrew Gower in one of the book’s numerous interviews with Buy OSRS Gold. “It was exciting to see 2,000 and 3,000 players playing simultaneously, a lot of players talking on forums and loving. I would like to continue making it. It was fun even if it wasn’t profitable”.

This is the reason why we had the free membership level be left in place – they didn’t wish to deter their players. As we’ve learned, it was a success, as the game’s popularity only increased. But the author of The First 20 Years explains, RuneScape didn’t reach its highs without making some errors in the process.

Many of us who played the game daily in the 2000s were likely to struggle with the first-ever release that is now called RuneScape Classic. Players could attack anyone and even against each other. The graphics were beyond simple. It could accommodate only 1,200 people at once without going down.

The games can’t fail today. Titanfall 2 isn’t getting the funds it requires to fix its online play on the PC. Anthem was dropped midway through the development of its big overhaul. Fable Legends was pulled before it was able to fully launch. The game is now either must be Fortnite, or die trying.

The enthusiasm of a developer may be largely irrelevant to a publisher, too. Dragon Age 4 has been cancelled twice because of superior interference continuously dictating the game’s direction. Metal Gear players, who very obviously want single-player games, received the co-op game Metal Gear Survive in 2018. And that’s not even to get into all of the affiliates Activision Blizzard wastes on constant Call of Duty development.

Thank goodness Jagex emerged at a time where it could remain an independent. If the player base had begun to decline in the late 2000s, a publisher would likely have shut down the entire thing. Hell, Raven Software started laying people off in the midst of Warzone earned billions, which means even a successful game could be a disaster for the humans who play the game.

The success stories we do have aren’t really rare exceptions. The stars had to align for Among Us to find its fan base even after it was released, and arguably the biggest prior to that – with the help of a large publisher – was Undertale back in 2017.

It’s the reason RuneScape The Early 20 Years isn’t just essential reading for anyone who is a fan of this game. It’s also essential for anyone interested in what direction gaming world is headed in. It’s a reminder that all of us should all support the independent scene that’s always fighting to be noticed in a vast market.

However, perhaps most importantly is that it’s a chance to be happy with what we have achieved since our beginnings. The gaming industry could seem as a completely disgusting and vile place when it comes to certain aspects (because it frequently is) but at its heart the developers are enthusiastic with a passion for gaming to be able to share with us.

A lot of us are blessed with wonderful childhood memories playing in Gielinor, not because some giant company sold us a product but because three brothers shared a passion along with their parents, who believed in them. These are the people must be the ones to thank for our memories, not superiors at Amazon and Activision Blizzard.

Steamforged Games recently announced that it will partner with developers Jagex which will see the release of RuneScape to tablet computers later this year. The MMORPG will be getting not just one, but two new tablestop versions: a game board game, and a tabletop role playing game. The board game is scheduled to launch on Kickstarter later this year and the tabletop version will go straight to retailers.

Both games draw their inspiration from the world of Buy RS Gold‘s, Gielinor. They will make use of some of the same characters, stories, as well as locations in which the MMORPG has made famous in its lengthy time. The game on the board will take one to five players on a quest-based campaign through the vast lands of Gielinor.