RuneScape Coming to Tablets, Possibly Consoles

Jagex is working to bring RuneScape to tablets by the end of the year, with Smart TV and console versions also being considered.

In an interview with IGN about the HTML5-powered RuneScape 3 due out this summer, CEO Mark Gerhard revealed the company is already working on a tablet version of the freemium browser MMO, but has no intention of stopping there.

“We’re working really, really hard to do tablets by Q4 this year,” he announced. “I see [smartphones] as a window into the game, so I think even mobile is right for RuneScape, but it’s probably as a subset or augmentation of the game rather than the core game experience.

“Tablet is more akin to your laptop so the game is more naturally transposed to that. I’m also very excited about Smart TVs; I don’t think we’re that far away from being able to do something very interesting there.”

He even suggested that RuneScape could one day make its way onto consoles, though acknowledged that Jagex wouldn’t be happy unless PlayStation owners could play with Microsoft gamers.

“Consoles are easy,” he said, with tongue firmly in cheek. “If you can just get the console manufacturers to play nice with each other and stop fragmenting the community then we could do something there too.

“Ultimately, you’ve got to go where you think the ball’s going to be, rather than chasing after it. Sometimes that means you have to make decisions without necessarily having all the data to say that it’s the right call, or that you can do it.”

His views were echoed by chief marketing officer David Solari, who explained that the team at Jagex aren’t daunted by the prospect of bringing an MMO to the tablet space.

“I think it stretches the imagination of what’s possible on tablet right now,” he shared. “I mean, RuneScape would easily be the most ambitious game ever put on tablet, right? So, that excites us.

“We’re used to taking on these crazy challenges and pushing things to the limit – HTML5 is a great example of that. A lot of people aren’t ready to go where we’ve gone already, so we think we can do it.”

In case you missed it, Jagex gave us an insight into RuneScape 3 last week and also revealed that the first of two new skills coming when the game drops will be Divination. Be sure to check back later this week to hear more from our interview, and find out our impressions of the revamp.

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