What is RuneScape 4? The current picture

RS4 is a new MMORPG being developed by Jagex in the RuneScape universe. MMORPG means a persistent online role-playing world shared with other players. It is a separate project, rather than an update that turns your current RuneScape game into RS4. The name is provisional: Jagex uses RS4 to refer to its fourth-generation RuneScape project.

This overview brings together what is known as of 4 October 2026. For the original reveal and its context, read our RuneFest 2026 announcement report.

When can I play?

There is no announced release date, and the official announcement does not offer a playable build or beta. Jagex says launch remains several years away. Registering interest is a way to follow the project; it is not a promise of immediate access or a guaranteed test invitation.

The next concrete information milestone is 2027. The October 2026 announcement says Jagex plans to share more the following year about the world, the game, its developers and ways players can participate. That is a plan for further information, not a 2027 release date or a confirmed beta schedule.

Use the release-date guide for the real-world milestones and the beta guide for interest registration and invitation checks.

What has actually been confirmed?

• Developer and format: Jagex is making a new RuneScape MMORPG.
• Technology: Unreal Engine is named; the announcement does not specify its version or PC requirements.
• World: the setting is Gielinor during the Sixth Age, beginning in Ashenfall.
• Story position: it takes place years after Dragonwilds and the destruction of the Dragon Queen Kuldra. An exact interval has not been given.
• Scope: Jagex describes an ambition to explore beyond Ashenfall over time. That does not establish a launch map or expansion schedule.
• Place in the series: RS4 is intended to coexist with RuneScape, Old School and Dragonwilds, which retain their own teams and plans.

How does it relate to the other games?

Old School RuneScape (OSRS) is the established, classic-style MMO. RuneScape, often called RS3, is the existing mainline MMO. Neither name is shorthand for the new RS4 project, and the RS4 announcement does not say either game is being replaced.

Dragonwilds is a survival crafting game with solo and co-op play. It introduced Ashenfall, which RS4 revisits later in the fictional timeline. Sharing a setting or development experience does not mean RS4 will use Dragonwilds’ survival loop, controls or combat.

RuneScape Reignited concerns the existing RuneScape experience: restoration work, a remastered journey and an opportunity to begin again. It is distinct from RS4. Reignited’s features, dates and membership offers should not be read as announcements about RS4.

The practical rule is to check which game a headline names before applying its promises to your character or plans. Our comparison table puts those distinctions side by side.

For the setting itself, start with Ashenfall and the Sixth Age story timeline. Neither the continent nor the in-world age establishes a release date or a requirement to finish Dragonwilds first.

What does the teaser tell us about gameplay?

The official concept teaser is available above and on Jagex’s announcement page. It gives a first presentation of the project, not a specification for its final playable systems.

Jagex has not detailed point-and-click movement, alternative control schemes, combat, classes, skill lists or progression systems. Unreal Engine alone cannot answer those questions. Platforms, pricing, membership and account or progress transfers also remain unannounced. Treat apparent details in an early presentation as provisional unless the publisher explicitly confirms them.

The platform guide distinguishes device support from Steam distribution and PC requirements. The pricing guide covers membership and fairness, while account transfer explains the implications for existing players.

What can I do now?

For existing players, the announcement does not establish an RS4 reward for buying Dragonwilds, training an old account or pre-purchasing membership. Integrity and permanent progression are design principles, not guarantees about paid advantages, character transfers or wipe-free tests. The existing-player FAQ separates these questions and their evidence.

1. Watch the official teaser using the player above or watch the teaser on YouTube.
2. Register interest with Jagex on the official RS4 page. The form and its terms are operated by the publisher; RS4Info does not collect registrations.
3. Check release and test status in the FAQ, and use our source-check record to see what has actually changed in our coverage.