RuneScape: Dragonwilds Is Out Now in Early Access – Jagex Drops Surprise Launch Just Two Weeks After Reveal

In a move that pretty much nobody expected, Jagex has launched RuneScape: Dragonwilds into Early Access today – just two weeks after its first official trailer dropped. That’s right: one moment, we’re waiting for a livestream to tease a release date, and the next, we’re knee-deep in magical survival crafting chaos. Surprise, adventurers!

This is Jagex’s latest stab at expanding the RuneScape universe, and while it might not be your typical click-and-grind MMORPG, the devs are clear: Dragonwilds is RuneScape to its very core. It’s got questing, lore, runes, magic, and plenty of skilling to satisfy your inner XP goblin – just now with an open-world survival twist baked in. Watch trailers and join early access on Steam on the game's page. Think: chop, craft, survive but with fireballs.

From Browser RPG to UE5 Survival Game

If you’ve somehow missed the last two decades of PC gaming, Jagex is the British studio behind RuneScape, one of the most influential MMORPGs of all time. From its humble browser-based origins in the early 2000s to the nostalgic powerhouse Old School RuneScape, the franchise has been quietly (and sometimes not-so-quietly) evolving. But Dragonwilds is a real leap – the studio’s first Unreal Engine 5 project and a genre shift into survival crafting.

Originally teased back in 2022 and resurfacing in 2024 for closed testing, Dragonwilds is a bold experiment that wants to keep everything people love about RuneScape while building something completely new. In the words of executive producer Jesse America, the goal was to "ignite fans’ passion, creativity and love for questing" while also making something fresh and inviting for newcomers. With regular updates planned during early access, this is just the beginning of the journey.

So, What is Dragonwilds?

Set in the dangerous new region of Ashenfall, Dragonwilds is your standard survival crafting playground on the surface – gather, build, explore, level up skills – but with plenty of that weird, whimsical RuneScape charm bubbling underneath. You’ll still be cutting trees, mining ore, and leveling up runecrafting to 99, just now with a fully 3D world, dynamic weather, and some surprisingly chill system requirements.

Magic plays a big role too – not just in combat but also in making life easier. Think about putting down multiple trees at once or supercharging your crafting routines. If that sounds like a game-changer, it is. And if it sounds overpowered? Don’t worry, there are plenty of enemies being added to keep things interesting. This is still RuneScape – you’re gonna suffer (and probably love it).

Why This Could Work

Survival crafting is a crowded genre. But Dragonwilds stands out by mixing nostalgic DNA with modern game design. It’s not just a spin-off – it’s a love letter to RuneScape fans who grew up grinding for capes but now want a new kind of challenge. And judging by early impressions, Jagex is serious about building this with the community, not just for it.

Between the solid foundation, regular content updates, and the novelty of seeing familiar RuneScape mechanics in a fresh setting, there’s a lot of potential here. It's not trying to replace classic RuneScape – it's trying to offer an alternate flavor for a generation that still fondly remembers its first trip to Varrock.

RuneScape: Dragonwilds just surprise-dropped into Early Access two weeks after its reveal. It’s a magic-infused open-world survival crafting game from Jagex set in the RuneScape universe, built in Unreal Engine 5. Expect tree-chopping, rune-farming, and lots of magical utility. It’s not the RuneScape you remember, but it might be the one you need.