We are thrilled to announce that RuneScape 3 has an official launch date: Monday 22nd July.

We can also finally reveal the centrepiece content for RuneScape 3: the Battle of Lumbridge. This will be a world event of epic scale where your decisions and actions will forever shape the story of Gielinor. The future of RuneScape is in your hands.

This is a brave new age for RuneScape in technology, story and gameplay.

Technology:

HTML5 game client: The next generation of browser technology. It brings a big step up in visual quality with improved lighting, draw distance and colour, loading into your browser in moments, without the need for plug-ins or Java.

The next generation of browser technology. It brings a big step up in visual quality with improved lighting, draw distance and colour, loading into your browser in moments, without the need for plug-ins or Java. New audio engine: High-fidelity audio and music, featuring full orchestral pieces written by BAFTA Award winner James Hannigan and played by the Slovak Symphony Orchestra.

High-fidelity audio and music, featuring full orchestral pieces written by BAFTA Award winner James Hannigan and played by the Slovak Symphony Orchestra. Seasonal high scores: Compete against your friends and the rest of the RuneScape community to rank on weekly and monthly leaderboards.

Story:

Dawn of the Sixth Age: The gods of RuneScape are returning. Entrusted as World Guardians, players have the power to decide which gods will win and lose in their struggles for supremacy.

The gods of RuneScape are returning. Entrusted as World Guardians, players have the power to decide which gods will win and lose in their struggles for supremacy. The Battle of Lumbridge: An epic-scale world event which will shake the foundations of Gielinor, and one which is driven entirely by your actions. Week by week, your choices will shape the flow of battle and the fate of characters, locations and stories, and the ultimate outcome will set the course for RuneScape’s future.

Gameplay:

New Interface System: Designed for ease of use and massive depth of customisation, the NIS lets you quickly change RuneScape’s UI according to your play style at any given moment. It also includes feature upgrades such as key binding and a resizable minimap to put even more choice at your fingertips.

Designed for ease of use and massive depth of customisation, the NIS lets you quickly change RuneScape’s UI according to your play style at any given moment. It also includes feature upgrades such as key binding and a resizable minimap to put even more choice at your fingertips. Upgraded camera: Overhauled and updated, a new in-game camera gives you the freedom to view Gielinor like never before.

Overhauled and updated, a new in-game camera gives you the freedom to view Gielinor like never before. New community website: Customise your community experience to your specifications, with a new easy-to-navigate website focused on your needs.

Customise your community experience to your specifications, with a new easy-to-navigate website focused on your needs. Divination: Prepare to unlock divine powers from your surroundings with a new skill for RuneScape 3, arriving a few weeks after launch.

Remember that RuneScape 3 is a continuation of the current game, so you’ll use your existing character, and don’t need to create a new account. You can also continue to play using the Java client if you wish – you’ll get all of the benefits of RuneScape 3, just without the visual upgrades.

In the meantime, these three steps will get you ready for launch:

Prepare your Computer

Install Google Chrome and make sure your graphics drivers are up to date.

Catch Up on the Story

Play The World Wakes and complete the God Emissaries jobs, and watch the Origins of Gielinor motion comic to see the epic chain of events that led to this point.

Preview New Gameplay

Get involved in our beta programme and try HTML5 and the New Interface System before RuneScape 3 arrives. The NIS Beta is open to everyone now, and the full HTML5 Open Beta is coming soon. Keep an eye out for more information!

Take a look at our latest Behind the Scenes video for a full RuneScape 3 reveal:

Any further questions? Take a look at our FAQ.

RuneScape leaps into a new age on Monday 22nd July. The future is in your hands.

The RuneScape Team

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