Jagex

Jagex is a British video-game developer and publisher focused on long-running online worlds. Based in Cambridge, England, it is the creator and custodian of the RuneScape franchise and develops, publishes, and operates games across PC, console, and mobile platforms.

The company’s work centres on MMORPGs and live-service “living games”: persistent experiences supported through ongoing content updates, community management, customer operations, analytics, server infrastructure, and long-term lifecycle planning. Its capabilities also span virtual economies, monetisation integrity, anti-cheat, player-trust systems, and proprietary MMO technology including its RuneTek engine architecture.

RuneScape universe

Jagex traces its origins to 1999, when Andrew and Paul Gower began developing RuneScape. The browser MMORPG launched publicly in 2001 and became the foundation for a portfolio of enduring online games. The company’s principal franchise titles include:

• RuneScape
• Old School RuneScape
• RuneScape: Dragonwilds

Old School RuneScape, launched in 2013 in response to player demand, is built around an unusually direct model of community participation, with proposed content and mechanical changes put to player polls. RuneScape: Dragonwilds expands the universe into open-world survival crafting, using Unreal Engine 5.

Development, publishing and operations

Alongside internally developed titles, Jagex provides third-party publishing and operational support through Jagex Partners. Its published portfolio has included Melvor Idle, This Means Warp, and Space Punks, while historical releases include Chronicle: RuneScape Legends, Block N Load, Ace of Spades, War of Legends, and the FunOrb games suite.

The company now presents itself as Jagex: The RuneScape Company, reflecting a strategic focus on its core universe. Jagex remains an active UK company, with Janus Bidco Limited as its immediate parent and a private-equity consortium led by CVC Capital Partners and Haveli Investments as its ultimate owner.