RuneFest 2026 reveals huge OSRS and Dragonwilds roadmap amid 100 Thieves drama

RuneScape has had a rocky week. While we’ve all been looking forward to RuneFest 2026, the 100 Thieves merchandise drama tinged the road to get there. Luckily, it’s just a blip on Jagex’s plans, as it reveals a packed roadmap for Old School RuneScape and RuneScape Dragonwilds.

For Old School RuneScape players, the immediate focus is The Fractured Archive, a new endgame raid launching on October 20, 2026. The ancient vault beneath Gielinor introduces a streamlined Boss Rush mode alongside new best-in-slot rewards, giving veteran players another reason to jump back into the beloved MMORPG. Hardcore Worlds arrive on November 4, 2026, bringing a new challenge and economy built around factions, creator play, and world-first prestige.

There’s plenty more coming to OSRS in 2027. Menaphos, a long-awaited new area, is finally opening, alongside a new quest called Fool’s Gold that continues the game’s Amascut storyline. Players will also get a new dungeon focused on gathering resources, plus the Soul Altar, a fresh location tied to the game’s magic system. Jagex also has more quests, Dungeons of Gielinor, a Mining and Smithing overhaul, and new areas and numerous challenges planned throughout the year.

RuneScape Dragonwilds is getting plenty of attention as well. The excellent survival game gets its Luminance update in December, setting the stage for the Blood Crystal Saga. That update introduces Elves, elven character customization, and the Prayer skill. Jagex also confirms quarterly Dragonwilds updates, with other skills including Hunter and Slayer, alongside monthly side quests, weapons, decorations, and quality-of-life improvements.

I’m perhaps more interested in modding, which arrives in 2027 through CurseForge with creation tools and an in-game mod browser and installer. The system is planned for all platforms, including consoles. So, yes, it’ll come to Nintendo Switch 2 eventually.

However, as I said earlier, there’s 100 Thieves. The organization’s Old School RuneScape collaboration with Jagex sparked backlash after fans spotted apparent AI-generated elements in a teased shirt. 100 Thieves subsequently admitted, “We messed up,” explaining that one of its designers used AI during the final stage of the tee’s design before the sample went into production.

The company says the collaboration was a “passion project”, but says that the tight production schedule contributed to the mistake, with the team having “a little more than a month’s time to design, review, approve, and manufacture the apparel.”

On using generative AI in its clothing lines, it adds that “AI has no place in our apparel design.” The company says Old School RuneScape is “cherished by many of us at 100 Thieves,” but admits the controversy has now “overshadowed” the collaboration. In the meantime, RuneScape’s collaboration with Scape Ink is now live.

Nevertheless, 100 Thieves’ merch drama is only a footnote in the bigger RuneFest 2026 picture. The message is pretty clear: RuneScape is getting bigger, not slowing down.

Will you be checking out what Jagex is cooking up? Let us know in the Pocket Tactics Discord server.