RuneScape ends 25-year console wait

After 25 years, the RuneScape franchise has finally launched on consoles with the release of Dragonwilds, a separate co-operative survival game. The original 2001 titleis not being ported to consoles. RuneScape is one of the world’s longest-running online role-playing games with more than 300-million player accounts.

Dragonwilds is available from today (15 September 2026) on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2. The Steam edition, which launched into Early Access in 2025 and has sold more than 1-million copies, updates to version 1.0. The game also becomes available for Windows through the Epic Games Store and Jagex Launcher. Subscription access is available through select Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus tiers. Crossplay is supported.

Players arrive on Ashenfall, a forgotten continent in the RuneScape universe where dragons have awakened under Kuldra, a five-headed black dragon known as the God-Eater. Each player begins as an ordinary adventurer who must gather resources, build shelter and develop skills while uncovering the source of the land’s wild animal.

Magic gives the survival routine a classic RuneScape identity. Players can summon spectral axes to fell trees, explode ore veins, blink away from danger and conjure fish from lakes. Skills progress towards level 99, rewarding players with new spells and abilities along the way.

Photo courtesy RuneScape.

The adventure can be tackled alone or with up to three companions. Regions include the haunted Fellhollow, the fortress of Dowdun Reach and the desert of Umbral Sands. Black Knights, Zogres, chromatic dragons and other creatures drawn from RuneScape lore inhabit the continent.

Version 1.0 completes Kuldra’s saga with the Scorned Wilderness raid. The endgame challenge sends adventurers across floating islands distorted by wild anima as they endure attacks from the Dragon Queen and her brood.

Fishing, farming, quests, vaults and an extensive building system offer quieter diversions between battles. Dedicated servers give groups a persistent place to build and explore.

Jagex, the studio behind the game, says development will continue beyond the full launch. Monthly updates are planned after version 1.0, with further skills, quests, regions and storylines expected to extend Ashenfall beyond Kuldra’s saga.

Where to play RuneScape: Dragonwilds

RuneScape: Dragonwilds is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC through Steam, the Epic Games Store and Jagex Launcher. Subscription access is available through Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Premium and PC Game Pass, as well as PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium. Xbox Cloud Gaming is also supported.

* Visit the ‘RuneScape: Dragonwilds’ website here.

*Jason Bannier is a data analyst at World Wide Worx and deputy editor of Gadget.co.za. Follow him on Bluesky at @jas2bann.**

The post RuneScape ends 25-year console wait appeared first on Gadget.