RuneScape to Shut Down Forums Permanently

The forums have been one of the main centers for players to express their thoughts and share in discussions about all things related to RuneScape. For so many years fans have found answers, learned new techniques, and resolved endless problems on these boards. Unfortunately, the studio has decided to close them permanently.

A week ago, Runescape announced the closure of its official forums. For as long as the game has existed, the forums have facilitated discussion and social interaction between players.

Players who have been playing Runescape for a long time will likely be upset with the news that forums will no longer serve as a social hub. The forums were an essential part of Runescape in its early days, providing players with a dedicated platform to talk outside of the game.

There has been a shift in the landscape of online interaction over the past 23 years, and Jagex is now splitting its time between platforms such as Discord, Reddit, and Twitter, which has led to a decline in forum usage.

As part of their efforts to allocate resources more effectively, the Runescape team has decided to focus on platforms where their players are most active, encouraging them to join their Discord server and follow the game on social media.

Several developers are using this approach, including Amazon’s New World, where the development team has determined that Discord’s tagging and channels, including a forum channel, are easier to use for interfacing with their community.

On forums, vital community interactions are often overlooked, but a platform like Discord offers advanced features like live streaming stages, voice chat channels, and more accessible navigation that allows developers to participate and react more rapidly.

From January 25th, players will be able to access the RuneScape forums read-only, allowing them to adapt to the transition and preserve any important content. After March 28th, the forums will go offline permanently.