RuneScape Dev Really, Really Wants Its Players to Vote in Favor of Removing the Game's Least Popular Microtransactions

RuneScape developer Jagex is considering removing 1 of the game's slightest popular, yet astir pervasive, layers of microtransactions. But alternatively of conscionable making the determination itself, it's letting its full playerbase ballot connected whether oregon not to ditch them entirely.

Oh, and the ballot is decidedly rigged. But it's...rigged successful the players' favor?

Currently, the modern mentation of RuneScape (also known arsenic RuneScape 3) features a fig of antithetic types of microtransactions, including a large diagnostic called Treasure Hunter. Very basically, Treasure Hunter allows players to get keys successful assorted ways, which are utilized to unfastened treasure chests and person items of varying rarity. Though it is imaginable to get tiny numbers of keys without spending money, acold much are obtainable for players who walk wealth connected the game. Over time, this has led to players complaining that Treasure Hunter is fundamentally a pay-to-win mechanic, since players tin get items that springiness them ample amounts of acquisition points done Treasure Hunter, efficaciously encouraging players to walk much to level up characters quickly.

There person been different issues with Treasure Hunter implicit the years arsenic well, arsenic good arsenic its predecessor microtransaction "Squeal of Fortune", but the quality to fundamentally wage to bypass gameplay is by acold the astir controversial. In fact, Jagex adjacent experimented with removing the diagnostic successful portion backmost successful July, erstwhile it disabled microtransactions for a week. A follow-up survey tally by the workplace suggested that 65% of players felt positively oregon neutral astir the change.

So today, Jagex sent retired a property merchandise stating that it was launching a assemblage ballot to "decide the aboriginal of RuneScape's microtransactions." The developer has launched a leafage connected its website that allows players to ballot to region Treasure Hunter from the crippled entirely, simultaneously removing implicit 220 associated items, including the acquisition points boosting items that person caused issues successful the past. Jagex says it volition region Treasure Hunter from the crippled if the canvass receives implicit 100,000 votes.

“This ballot is 1 of the astir important moments successful RuneScape’s history," said Jagex CEO Jon Bellamy successful a statement. "Starting close now, players volition formed the deciding ballot connected the aboriginal absorption of the game. Since Squeal of Fortune was introduced successful 2012, and subsequently Treasure Hunter successful 2014, our attack to monetisation has, implicit time, eroded immoderate of the integrity astatine the bosom of RuneScape.

"The astir concerning elements of our MTX systems person been those that allowed players to bypass halfway gameplay, skipping implicit the depth, challenge, and consciousness of find that marque RuneScape genuinely special. While these systems person helped money the game, they’ve done truthful astatine a outgo to thing acold greater: the integrity of our worlds. This ballot is astir correcting that, and taking a measurement toward designing experiences that are fair, rewarding, and built to last.”

It's captious to constituent retired though that Jagex's canvass truly isn't a canvass astatine all. It's a fastener players tin property if they privation to ballot successful favour of removing Treasure Hunter. There's nary enactment for players to ballot "no", Jagex volition simply instrumentality the alteration if 100,000 radical full ballot successful favor. And the leafage itself makes it beauteous dang wide that Jagex wants players to ballot for this. Using connection specified arsenic suggesting those who ballot "yes" privation to "see an integrity-led RuneScape powered by your ain accomplishments" and the beingness of aggregate greenish "Vote Yes Now" buttons each down the leafage are, uh, not precisely subtle. Nor is the information that Jagex seems beauteous acceptable to instrumentality this, arsenic if it already knows what the effect would be.

But portion a clearly-rigged non-poll sounds bad, it's also captious to enactment that players really bash look to privation this to happen. Over connected the RuneScape subreddit, players are ecstatic. The apical remark connected the Jagex mod's authoritative station announcing the ballot simply says "Holy based", followed by "I can't judge I lived to spot this", and many, galore much comments on those lines. In fact, the positivity is overwhelming. While immoderate players look skeptical that they'll conscionable the 100,000 ballot requirement, others are confident, adjacent suggesting the OSRS (Old School RuneScape) players mightiness enactment the canvass arsenic well, conscionable connected principle. It seems arsenic though they needn't worry. At the clip this portion was written, the canvass had been up for conscionable 4 hours, and had already reached 50,000 votes. For context, Jagex says connected its website that determination person been implicit 320,000,000 RuneScape accounts created implicit the years...though however galore of those are progressive is simply a precise antithetic question (Old School RuneScape precocious surpassed 240,000 players this past August).

Overall, this seems similar a positive, long-needing, and invited alteration for the RuneScape community. It's conscionable a small weird that it's being framed arsenic a poll, erstwhile the desired result for some players and developer is beauteous obvious. There is simply a imaginable speechmaking of this arsenic simply a determination for affirmative PR, specifically fixed that Jagex was acquired conscionable past year, Bellamy was instated arsenic a caller CEO conscionable this past March, and he's already had a atrocious circular of headlines implicit canceling yearly in-game Pride events.

Players person until November 12 to ballot if they would similar to region the microtransactions, and tin proceed voting beyond the 100,000 needed numbers to explicit enactment for the change. Removing Treasure Hunter won't afloat region each microtransactions from the game, with cosmetics and bonus XP items with acceptable caps to assistance curb exploits volition remain.

Rebekah Valentine is simply a elder newsman for IGN. You tin find her posting connected BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a communicative tip? Send it to [email protected].