Lower than six months after angering its group by mountaineering the worth of Runescape, Jagex has executed it once more with a brand new participant survey asking gamers for his or her ideas about some probably very large modifications to the sport’s pricing and have set. With these ideas now coming in like cow shit in a hurricane, Jagex has hastened to reassure gamers that the survey “just isn’t a listing of deliberate modifications,” however just a few analysis.
The survey, shared on Reddit, floated quite a few potential membership tiers for Runescape and Previous College Runescape, generally each, together with numerous hooked up options—nearly all of which, as famous by GamesRadar, could be dearer than the present pricing scheme.
And whereas Jagex promised that “any potential modifications to membership choices won’t impression gameplay equity or the provision of in-game content material,” some proposed modifications, like a shorter AFK timer, specialised member worlds, the addition of in-game advertisements, and mobile-only entry at decrease subscription tiers, sound very very similar to they’d have an effect on gameplay and content material availability.
A number of the proposed membership tiers are actually costly, too. The highest-tier plan seen within the survey, which incorporates entry to each Runescape and Previous College Runescape, with specialised member worlds, eight member characters, character title reservations, enhanced participant assist, and a “pause membership possibility,” prices $32.49 monthly, or simply over $350 per yr when you’re prepared to pay up yearly.
Particular complaints are various and plenty of, however the total response to the survey will be summed up by the title of this Reddit thread: “Jagex, you’ve gotten simply fucked up and executed irreparable harm.” That is fairly sturdy, but it surely does appear to be an correct measure of the temper, even amongst dedicated gamers. “I can shell out $100/yr for successfully the one recreation I play. Perhaps even $120 for a number of characters,” redditor rippel_effect wrote. “That is predatory as hell, although.”
“I’ve been admittedly defending Jagex on a whole lot of shit not too long ago,” iamkira01 added. “I can’t defend this. I’m fucking flabbergasted.”
In an replace, Jagex justified the survey as “a part of a protracted, multi-step course of the place gamers have been concerned from the very starting,” and stated it contains subjects which might be “controversial or polarizing” in such surveys as a result of it is a great way to determine how gamers actually really feel about issues.
“Nice group administration isn’t nearly listening to what gamers need; it’s additionally about being open to exploring uncomfortable subjects in order that we are able to make knowledgeable, player-driven choices,” Jagex wrote. “Surveys like this permit us to collect suggestions on concepts earlier than they even come near changing into actuality. They act as an necessary safeguard, making certain that something unpopular or misaligned with the group’s values is recognized early.”
With a few of these “unpopular” concepts now very clearly recognized, Jagex stated it has “no plans to incorporate advertisements within the base membership or to make ad-supported choices a big a part of the sport,” and that it has “heard loud and clear that sturdy buyer assist is a baseline expectation.” It additionally acknowledged that shorter AFK timers for non-premium gamers is a really unpopular thought, and stated that and different concepts “have been included to grasp participant preferences and weren’t supposed to be concrete plans.”
Which isn’t a assure that this stuff will not occur sooner or later: Relating to paid participant assist, as an example, Jagex stated participant suggestions “makes it clear that this could stay a typical a part of membership, and we’re taking that into consideration.”
Regardless of the reassurances, evidently some gamers have had sufficient: Some gamers within the subreddit are sharing pictures of account cancellations, whereas Previous College Runescape YouTuber FlippingOldschool posted a video at the moment predicting the modifications “would destroy OSRS” if Jagex truly follows by on them.
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For now, Jagex seems to be targeted totally on conserving a lid on issues. “It could not at all times be simple, however these conversations are invaluable in serving to us make choices that profit the long-term well being of Previous College RuneScape,” the studio wrote. “We’ll maintain you up to date as we transfer ahead.”
