We got a look at RuneScape: Dragonwilds’ console release, here are our thoughts

What the report says

Submit a news tip☰ Posted on September 5, 2026 by Richard Ford in NewsRuneScape has been a staple in PC gaming culture for decades now. Though perhaps it isn’t looked at with the same prestige and esteem generally by console gamers, the series has been hugely influential in the upbringing of a whole generation of gamers. I wasn’t one of them, sadly, as the era I grew up in where PC gaming was so massive was in an Ireland where not a lot of people had access to home internet. I was looking for a window to get into the franchise, and luckily enough for me, the team at Jagex has noticed this demand and created a point of entry for fans to get into the lore without being bogged down by the traditional gameplay mechanics and perhaps the intimidating community.They’ve done that with this open world action survival spin-off of the MMORPGs, DragonWilds, which takes place within the world of the established franchise, but plays completely different from what we’ve seen from RuneScape before.

That is intentional, as this genre of video game is considered more easily accessible to console gamers, thus making it a good starting point for players like me. While I didn’t go hands on myself, I was given a demo of the game extensively and shown quite a bit of what the game has to offer.The first thing to note is that the game has been in early access since April of last year, as the team at Jagex aimed to get an idea of what players wanted most from this game before the true full launch on consoles.

I was told by the reps showing me the game that, as a result of early access, the game has grown almost symbiotically with a lot of ideas and perspectives from players being implemented into the game itself, which is really cool. Some of the players’ in-game creations have actually featured in trailers for the game too. To talk about the gameplay mechanics a bit, if you’ve played The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (I’m pretty confident you have!) then you know what you’re getting into here, as a lot of inspiration has been taken from that game.

Key details

That said, of course this game does things to stand on its own two feet.One of the ways it does this is by leveraging mechanics from RuneScape. As mentioned, players can craft within the world, which are made from the materials they find from doing things like chopping down trees. Players level up to get stronger, giving them more access to new tricks to speed creation along as well as fighting enemies, like new magic skills. Magic can also be used to speed up crafting, like chopping down multiple trees at once.I was shown an overview of the map and the story campaign that players have been engaging with in early access, and that campaign the developers reckon that the campaign is about 30 hours if you don’t mess around with side quests or anything like that, because side activities like that significantly multiply that play time.

What astounded me was that the map for the full launch of the game is what seemed to be quadruple in size to what players have been engaging with already, including the returning Kharidian Desert from previous RuneScape games. The plan is to support this game in the future as a new pillar of the franchise. This is quite an ambitious undertaking, but the sheer passion that the team spoke with filled me with confidence that they are wholly dedicated to supporting this spin-off well into the future, rather than it simply being a one-and-done release.Some other tidbits I got from speaking with Jagex are that cross-play is going to be useble across all versions, including the Nintendo Switch 2 version.

I learned that there’s an encyclopedia-like system in-game that expands as you progress, where you can learn more about the lore and the world, and a big thing I was told is that you don’t need to know anything about RuneScape going in to enjoy this one. That was important for the development team, because the studio wants this game to be a fresh entry point for console players. There are still elements in the game that returning fans will recognize and appreciate. With the console release of this coming on September 15, players can look forward to an expansive adventure in a world rich with life and lore.

More from the announcement

I know I’m looking forward to giving it a whirl for myself! More: highlight, Jagex, RuneScape: Dragonwilds, top