RuneScape Hits 1M Paying Subscribers

Jagex's popular browser-based MMORPG RuneScape has amassed more than one million paying suscribers, the company announced today. With the monthly subscription fee set at $5, the Cambridge-stationed developer now grosses more than $5 million a month. While Jagex offers a free version of the Java-powered game at RuneScape.com, subscribing provides players with benefits including a larger world map, more bank space, additional items and exclusive quests. According to the press release, the game has strong subscriber bases in North America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Scandinavia, with the average player between 14 and 24 years old. A German-language version of the game is currently in beta testing. "Reaching the record breaking 1 million member mark is a massive milestone for RuneScape. It is a huge acknowledgement from our global gaming community that being presented with new adventures and challenges in a rapidly evolving world are what gamers want in a multiplayer online game," said Jagex managing director and co-founder Constant Tedder. "Development efforts have been rewarded with a steady and steep rise in player numbers. And weÂ’re not resting on our laurels - thereÂ’s a huge amount still to come!" Last July, Jagex partnered with WildTangent Games for in-game advertising and distribution via the WildTangent Games Network, which reaches over 20 million PCs. As of then, RuneScape had over 9 million total users. "RuneScape is not just a game," said WildTangent CEO Alex St John at the time. "It's an iconic element of youth culture."