RuneScape 3 pulls in 300k players in first month

RuneScape 3 has racked up over 300,000 new players since launching only one month ago.

The fantasy MMO, created by UK studio Jagex, allows players to forge their own gaming experience and shape the world around them.

Over the past 30 days the game has had more than 300,000 new players start adventure and over 100,000 former players re-activate their accounts.

In total, these new, existing and returning players have seen on average 600,000 hours of gameplay being played per day – which is the equivalent of 68 years of gameplay taking place daily.

RuneScape 3 launched on July 22nd with the Battle of Lumbridge; an event which spans two months centred around the conflict between two of the gods who have returned to RuneScape.

Players have been pledging their allegiance to these gods and have already participated in a battle, killing over 60 million enemy soldiers.

“With the Battle of Lumbridge we have given the players new ways to shape RuneScape and place their permanent mark on the world.” said Phil Mansell, RuneScape executive producer.

“We’ve seen over a 150 million votes cast on how the battle campaign should evolve, with players making decision on everything from what kind of reinforcements they get to how they believe they can best support their chosen god with buffs and new units. Players have so many ways to shape the current raging battle, from killing their enemies or donating hard earned resources to their chosen deity, and it is this player driven dynamic which puts the future of the game very firmly in the players’ hands.”

Jagex will continue to add content to the game, giving its community something new to try and to master every week. A new quest, The Death of Chivalry, along with a new skill, Divination.

Mark Gerhard CEO Jagex said: “We are delighted to see the growth in the main game, RuneScape 3 has been the result of the tireless efforts of the development team and the positive reaction from the community, since its launch, shows how aligned they are with the community spirit and sentiment. This is the first step in allowing players to truly create their own adventure within the game and we’re really excited about seeing how the game evolves through their participation.”