Jagex outrages the Runescape community yet again, this time with a survey hinting at big price hikes and worse service for those who don't want to pay
Less than six months after angering its community by hiking the price of Runescape, Jagex has done it again with a new player survey asking players for their thoughts about some potentially very big changes to the game's pricing and feature set. With those thoughts now coming in like cow shit in a hurricane, Jagex has hastened to reassure players that the survey «is not a list of planned changes,» but just some research.
The survey, shared on Reddit, floated numerous possible membership tiers for Runescape and Old School Runescape, sometimes both, along with various attached features—almost all of which, as noted by GamesRadar, would be more expensive than the existing pricing scheme.
And while Jagex promised that «any potential changes to membership options will not impact gameplay fairness or the availability of in-game content,» some proposed changes, like a shorter AFK timer, specialized member worlds, the addition of in-game ads, and mobile-only access at lower subscription tiers, sound very much like they'd have an impact on gameplay and content availability.
Some of the proposed membership tiers are really expensive, too. The top-tier plan seen in the survey, which includes access to both Runescape and Old School Runescape, with specialized member worlds, eight member characters, character name reservations, enhanced player support, and a «pause membership option,» costs $32.49 per month, or just over $350 per year if you're willing to pay up annually.
Specific complaints are varied and many, but the overall reaction to the survey can be summed up by the title of this Reddit thread: «Jagex, you have just fucked up and done irreparable damage.» That's pretty strong, but it does seem like an accurate measure of the mood, even among committed players. «I can shell out $100/yr for effectively the only game I play. Maybe even $120 for multiple characters,» redditor rippel_effect wrote. «This is predatory as hell, though.»
«I have been admittedly defending Jagex on
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