RuneScape
Ranked 4 of 15 MMORPGs by recommenders
Long-running free-to-play MMO loved for its deep skill grind, sandbox freedom and community; critics say its monetisation grew predatory.
Long-running free-to-play MMO loved for its deep skill grind, sandbox freedom and community; critics say its monetisation grew predatory.
53 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 35
- criticize it
- 18
- approval share
- 66%
Recommended in 8 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Owned for 20 years
Median of the 3 owners who said how long they have had it.
Each square is one year.
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 35 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.9 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 8 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Nostalgia from years of play
“Runescape had such a massive audience of children playing it because it was so stupidly simple”
Comment from 23 Nov 2025 in “SimpleMMO – How I made a hole a home (2021)” “it's still the most powerful gaming experience and memories I have”
Comment from 1 Sep 2026 in “2004 RuneScape fit a multiplayer RPG into 56k dial-up” “I've been playing that game since I was eight years old!”
Comment from 12 Aug 2026 in “Show HN: iPhone app takes simultaneous images from 2 lenses, fuses into 1 photo” - Comment from 10 Mar 2026 in “Roblox Is Minting Teen Millionaires”
- Comment from 4 Oct 2026 in “We're working on a new RuneScape MMO”
- Comment from 1 Sep 2026 in “2004 RuneScape fit a multiplayer RPG into 56k dial-up”
- Comment from 1 Sep 2026 in “2004 RuneScape fit a multiplayer RPG into 56k dial-up”
- Comment from 1 Sep 2026 in “2004 RuneScape fit a multiplayer RPG into 56k dial-up”
Strong community and developer bond
“the symbiotic relationship between jagex and the players is what has made the game great”
Comment from 20 Oct 2026 in “RuneScape Bench: MMOs for Agents [video]” “the recent success of the game is in large part due to the community itself”
Comment from 19 Oct 2026 in “RuneScape Bench: MMOs for Agents [video]” “Fell in love with the game and had a ton of admiration for the devs”
Comment from 4 Oct 2026 in “We're working on a new RuneScape MMO” - Comment from 11 Mar 2026 in “Roblox Is Minting Teen Millionaires”
Free, runs on weak hardware
“Runescape ran on a potato, was F2P, the P2P was 5$ a month”
Comment from 1 Sep 2026 in “2004 RuneScape fit a multiplayer RPG into 56k dial-up” “WoW, FFXIV, RuneScape, all work great on Linux.”
Comment from 28 Jan 2026 in “Microsoft forced me to switch to Linux” “free to play option and it ran in browser”
Comment from 1 Sep 2026 in “2004 RuneScape fit a multiplayer RPG into 56k dial-up” - Comment from 1 Sep 2026 in “2004 RuneScape fit a multiplayer RPG into 56k dial-up”
Rich skills and midgame content
“the game needs to have enough content to have a thriving midgame, which is something that runescape does really well, except RuneScape's issue”
Comment from 10 Sep 2026 in “The Invention of the MMO” “RuneScape is an RPG game with over 20+ skills. What make it interesting is that RuneScape bot engines”
Comment from 21 Jan 2026 in “RTS for Agents”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Predatory pay-to-progress monetization
“the updates became sparse, the artstyle because sanitized and generic, and the game mechanics became predatory”
Comment from 4 Oct 2026 in “We're working on a new RuneScape MMO” “Modern RuneScape was a pit of whale hunting mtx pay2progress nonsense.”
Comment from 1 Sep 2026 in “2004 RuneScape fit a multiplayer RPG into 56k dial-up” “They financialised the game around 2011, it went down the shitter”
Comment from 8 Sep 2026 in “There's a new "Google Jail" for independent wikis” Bots and weak bot detection
“their bot detection strictly works off behavioral characteristics”
Comment from 4 Oct 2026 in “We're working on a new RuneScape MMO” “they don't really have an incentive to filter out bots”
Comment from 4 Oct 2026 in “We're working on a new RuneScape MMO” Economy inflation and gold farming
“RS3 inflation of the raw material space makes this self evident. Normal Logs passed 1k ea. Obscene and inexcusable.”
Comment from 16 Apr 2026 in “The OSRS Botting Problem Is Architectural” “Gold farming for membership bonds severely stratified the game's economy”
Comment from 7 May 2026 in “Xbox CEO ends Copilot AI development and overhauls leadership”
Other MMORPGs people recommend
The four most recommended other MMORPGs, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World of Warcraft | 67 | 65 | 51% | 12 | 20 yrs5 owners | — |
| EVE Online | 52 | 23 | 69% | 11 | 11 yrs7 owners | Approved |
| Ultima Online | 44 | 5 | 90% | 9 | — | Approved |
| RuneScapeThis page | 35 | 18 | 66% | 8 | 20 yrs3 owners | — |
| Old School RuneScape | 22 | 3 | 88% | 9 | — | Approved |
What people said
40 of the 59 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“designed for actual enjoyment more than for revenue”
“it's still wise to be wary of Skinner boxes”
“the symbiotic relationship between jagex and the players is what has made the game great”
“No way an AI could create something so original”
“dying in the game is still overall a huge PITA, especially in PVP where your killer gets to keep most of your stuff”
“capturing the essence of what made RS such a great game”
“the recent success of the game is in large part due to the community itself”
“You can use Runescape as a better example for the return to classic working.”
“I love logging on to vanilla every few months and grinding some skill”
“they don't really have an incentive to filter out bots”
“the updates became sparse, the artstyle because sanitized and generic, and the game mechanics became predatory”
“Fell in love with the game and had a ton of admiration for the devs”
“Loved RS but it’s too grindy for my life now.”
“their bot detection strictly works off behavioral characteristics”
“they're generally hitting it out of the park on this side of the fence as well”
“man Runescape was/is such an amazing game”
“they revolted because they were bad . They've since improved and people seem to like it”
“the game needs to have enough content to have a thriving midgame, which is something that runescape does really well, except RuneScape's issue”
“They financialised the game around 2011, it went down the shitter”
“Modern RuneScape was a pit of whale hunting mtx pay2progress nonsense.”
“free to play option and it ran in browser”
“was accessible pretty much anywhere”
“Runescape ran on a potato, was F2P, the P2P was 5$ a month”
“since the new CEO, they have been much more strict with antibotting and they have virtually disappeared from the game”
“it's still the most powerful gaming experience and memories I have”
“Jagex has done some interesting things, but without fail, there is a blunder accompanying each.”
“it was a pre-WoW style sandbox MMO with a lot of freedom at the time”
“it was absolutely magical to me”
“it was absolutely magical to me.”
“It was miraculous for a kid like me.”
“I've been playing that game since I was eight years old!”
“Gold farming for membership bonds severely stratified the game's economy”
“RS3 inflation of the raw material space makes this self evident. Normal Logs passed 1k ea. Obscene and inexcusable.”
“The ecosystem was incredible”
“My friends and I LOVED RuneScape in middle school.”
“I think RuneScape's choice to lock content behind a paywall rather than connect real money to timers/in-game items was the right one.”
“Runescape2/OSRS never had any sort of pay to win, or pay to skip the grind.”
“WoW, FFXIV, RuneScape, all work great on Linux.”
“RuneScape is an RPG game with over 20+ skills. What make it interesting is that RuneScape bot engines”
“Runescape had such a massive audience of children playing it because it was so stupidly simple”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.