The Evolution Of Combat project aims to transform the game’s combat system to “revolutionise the way players fight and interact in-game”. Specifics remain shrouded in secrecy, with Jagex promising more news in due course. More >
Cambridge-based Runescape developer Jagex has won a landmark legal battle against the developers of bots which targeted its free-to-play MMOG. The two developers, brothers Mark and Eric Snellman, were ordered to pay damages to Jagex and to cease bot development for any of the company's games after it successfully argued that Impulse Software - the name under which the brothers traded - was violating copyright, trademark and computer fraud laws with its iBOT subscription service. Impulse Software is also forbidden from assisting other bot programmers, or discussing Jagex, Runescape or the court case in public. And finally, the pair must hand over any source code pertaining to their bot development along with any customer details held and the identities of anyone who has developed scripts for iBOT. More >
New York venture capital firm Insight Venture has increased its stake in Jagex Games Studio from 35 per cent to 55 per cent, effectively transferring control of the Runescape developer from the UK to the US. More >
Where is the fast-expanding F2P model going and what does it take to succeed in this market?
1
CEO Mark Gerhard warns developers of the perils in blindly switching to the increasingly popular funding model.
2
Social media, educational reform and future tech characterised an exciting, if squeezed, ninth EIF.
Why the future of Jagex's ageing MMORPG lies in the creativity of its players.
Jagex's browser-based game holds the Guinness World Record for most popular free MMOG, and that popularity seems set to further increase with today's release of an expansion which adds clan citadels to the game's sky. Any clan with five or more members can take ownership of a citadel, and the expansion also introduces the Battleground Editor, which lets clans devise their own multiplayer games, ranging from deathmatches to ball games. Jagex says interest in the update has prompted a rush of new players, with Runescape VP Daniel Clough saying: "Our ambitious plan has always been to make Runescape's clan support the envy of the MMOG world, and we are confident that clan citadels can do just that."
Unspecified amount secured from three firms to enable RuneScape developer to further expand operations.
Free trade and wilderness abandoned in 2007 to prevent cheating; 91 per cent vote for February return.