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RuneFest 2025, the world’s biggest celebration of RuneScape, returned to the Birmingham NEC last weekend with plenty of announcements, including the Golden Gnome Awards winners.
British games developer Jagex made several premiere reveals of brand new content and experiences coming to the worlds of RuneScape and Old School RuneScape (OSRS) throughout 2025 and beyond.
Returning for the first time since 2019, and with tickets selling out within minutes of going on-sale, organisers said RuneFest 2025 has been ‘the biggest RuneFest yet’. Fans were able to meet their favourite J-Mods and community creators, cosplay, try the latest playable content, and more.
High Viz Media also helped with the event’s production, and Epic.LAN was tasked with creating the 200-player LAN zone at the event.
It comes after RuneFest was delayed in 2024 following the closure of Insomnia Gaming Festival, an event it was going to take place alongside.
Here are 13 announcements and moments from RuneFest 2025.
RuneFest 2025 opens with rock medley cover of classic RuneScape tracks
The show opened with a surprise musical performance by accomplished guitarist, producer, and RuneScape megafan Cole Rolland, who performed a ten-minute medley rock cover of classic RuneScape tracks accompanied by Jagex staff member, Mod Ash, on violin.
The track is available now on streaming platforms.
2025 Golden Gnome Awards winners listed
The much-loved Golden Gnome Awards returned at RuneFest 2025 to celebrate RuneScape and Old School RuneScape’s community of players, featuring 26 awards that recognised the efforts of content creators, community contributors and cosplayers.
The awards were hosted by Austin Show.
Earning the ultimate two awards, Crystal was presented with the RuneScape Creators Choice award, alongside SoloMission as OSRS Creators Choice, commemorating them both as superstars of the RuneScape community.
The full list of Golden Gnome Awards winners from RuneFest 2025 can be found here:
- Best Cosplay Creation: Donza
- Best New RuneScape Artist: SnowyRune
- Best RuneScape Artist: Suizzy
- Best RuneScape Artistic Creation: Suizzy (for ‘City of Um Lofied’)
- Best New OSRS Artist: Rune LoreKeeper
- Best OSRS Artist: TheSkulled
- Best OSRS Artistic Creation: Rune LoreKeeper (for ‘Tile Accurate Lumbridge’)
- Best New RuneScape Video Creator: IronAraxxor
- Best RuneScape Video Creator: TheRSGuy
- Best RuneScape Video: ‘Solak Log – The Journey’ by Omid
- Best New OSRS Video Creator: Alien Food
- Best OSRS Video Creator: Settled
- Best OSRS Video: ‘Gielinor Games Finale’ by SoupRS
- Best New RuneScape Streamer: EloquentSilence
- Best RuneScape Streamer: TheRSGuy
- Best New OSRS Streamer: Fray
- Best OSRS Streamer: Odablock
- Best Music Composition: ‘Endless Sea’ by J1mmy
- Best Series: ‘Gielinor Games Season 4’ by SoupRS
- Best Guidemaker: Gnomonkey
- Best Streamed Event: ‘Deadman All-Stars’ by SoloMission
- Gamer of the Year: Settled
- RuneScape Community Champions: Chrash & RCM37 from PvM Encyclopedia
- OSRS Community Champion: ScreteMonge
- RuneScape Creators Choice Award: Crystal
- OSRS Creators Choice Award: SoloMission
Old School RuneScape Sailing Skill Alpha launches this month
Set sail across the lands of Gielinor with Old School RuneScape’s first ever new skill, Sailing, playable for the first time at RuneFest 2025 and available for everybody to play in alpha later this month.
“Take to the seas with the Sailing update, starting off on a teeny tiny raft, and levelling up your skill as a sailor to become an experienced captain capable of commanding a crew and traversing hazardous waters,” Jagex said in a press release.
“Dive with mermaids, salvage resources, and explore the far reaches of the ocean to defeat krakens, leviathans and cutthroat pirates in action-packed naval combat on the high seas of Gielinor.”
New bosses and other updates coming to OSRS in 2025
For endgame players, they can take on a new challenge with a duo of new bosses, including Yama, coming to Old School RuneScape this spring, followed by the Delve boss, the Doom of Mokhaiotl.
Later this summer, players can travel to the wilder reaches of Auburnvale, Custodia Pass, and the Tlati Rainforest as Varlamore: The Final Dawn comes to Old School RuneScape with all-new quests for players to sink their teeth into.
HD Mode announced for OSRS
Also this summer, Old School RuneScape’s HD Mode will revamp the classic MMO with ‘enhanced graphical features, while retaining OSRS’s iconic visual identity’.
It will arrive as a completely optional new mode, and with visuals optimised for a range of devices.
Project Zanaris Playtest Sign-Ups Now Open
Jagex announced that playtest sign-ups for Project Zanaris, the community world program that lets players tweak and modify their own worlds, set their own rules, and create new ways to play and experience Old School RuneScape, are now open.
Players can sign up to register their interest in participating in the Project Zanaris playtests in the link above or via the Old School RuneScape Discord, with the first wave of closed tests looking to start in April.
RuneScape Leagues announced
Revealed during the RuneScape Ahead keynote, Jagex announced that RuneScape Leagues, the fan favourite game mode first introduced in Old School RuneScape, is coming to RuneScape.
Arriving later this year, Leagues is a limited-time game mode where players start again from the beginning experiencing accelerated XP and rare drop rates, travelling through the land. They’ll discover tasks to complete which unlock overpowered new items and passives to change how you play the game.
Havenhythe expansion heads to RuneScape in 2026
Coming to RuneScape in early 2026, Havenhythe introduces a new area expansion, featuring new locations, bosses, skilling activities, and a new storyline as players take the fight to the Vampyres.
“Located on the East of Morytania, Havenhythe is an isolated land, filled with lost history, bountiful resources, and multiple biomes that players will get to explore in a series of new quests throughout 2026,” Jagex said. “Uncover ancient mysteries and face a new threat feared by Gielinor’s most lethal predators in a grand adventure set across a new land, and level up your Hunter skill beyond 99 with the Hunter 110 update, introduced with Havenhythe.”
As the Havenhythe story enters its second year in 2027, players can journey into Vampyrium.
RuneScape gets new combat boss Amascut
Arriving later this year, Jagex confirmed that Pharaoh’s Folly, the second part of the Return to the Desert trilogy of quests, will release 7 April, followed by the launch of the final chapter Eclipse of the Heart on 28 July.
The conclusion to this 24-year-old storyline will feature new rewards and a showdown with the goddess of destruction, Amascut, a new group battle designed to challenge up to five players with multiple difficulty modes.
110 Runecrafting launches in RuneScape, with 110 Crafting to follow
110 Runecrafting has just launched in RuneScape today alongside a brand new rune, the Time Rune, while the launch of 110 Crafting in June will let players get their hands on new craftable high-tier Mage armour.
In May, new augmentable tools will let players train Invention through Runecrafting and Thieving and discover new components to create new skilling perks for skills like Mining, Archaeology and more.
Beatstar x Old School RuneScape
Jagex announced that it had partnered with Beatstar to bring Amascut’s Promise (Remix) to the mobile music rhythm game.
Available now, this collaboration marks the very first song from a video game soundtrack appearing in Beatstar as a playable track, letting players experience this fan-favourite Old School RuneScape track in a new way.
Jagex announces Jon Bellamy as new CEO
This morning, a few days after RuneFest (March 4th 2025), Jagex sent the following update to press.
Jagex has announced the appointment of Jon Bellamy as Chief Executive Officer. Jon will succeed Phil Mansell, who has served as CEO since 2017.
“Phil will remain with the business for a period of time to ensure a smooth transition,” Jagex said.
“Jon enters this role with global strategic and operational experience as well as deep understanding and appreciation of RuneScape. He has served on Jagex’s Board since 2024 and has extensive experience in the gaming industry, including executive roles at Jagex (2015-2018) and Huuuge Games (2019-2023). Jon is also a player of RuneScape for over 20 years and a veteran of the OSRS & RS3 communities.”
“On behalf of the board, I want to sincerely thank Phil for his leadership and contributions to Jagex over the past 14 years,” said Marc Allera, Jagex Chairman. “Under Phil’s leadership, Jagex has undergone significant transformation, growing into the Company it is today while always staying true to its player-centric focus – with an all time record number of Old School RuneScape players in Q4- 2024. We all wish him the very best and know he will go on to do great things in the future.”
Jon Bellamy added: “It’s a great honour to assume the leadership of Jagex and to help steward a game franchise that means so much to so many millions, myself included. I am also excited to get to work with the outstanding team, whom I know well from my time on the Board, to ensure our games continue to be the best in the world. I plan to spend some time now with the team, reviewing our ambitions for Jagex, and plan to communicate my broader vision to the RuneScape community in the near-term.”
OSRS and RuneScape roadmaps for 2025 and 2026
We’ll leave you with the 2025-2026 roadmaps for OSRS and RuneScape below:
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
