Popular Video Games Franchise Is Developing Into A New Fantasy Show For The First Time

Fantasy gamers just got a massive update 25 years in the making.

Popular video games being turned into movie or TV show adaptations are far from new, although they do seem to be having a moment of late. With The Last of Us season 3 currently underway, a God of War series in the works at Prime (after some unfortunate on-set incidents meant a possible delay and a recast), and myriad others coming this year and beyond, this genre doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon—and now, a 25-year-old beloved game is getting added to the mix, a new report reveals.

As reported by Variety, RuneScape will be getting its very own fantasy TV series adaptation. Lyrical Animation, game developer Jagex, and creator Charlie “MoistCr1TiKaL” White will be collaborating to bring the project to life, although details remain limited for now. The upcoming series was only announced yesterday at RuneFest in the UK, and there’s no expected release date yet; in fact, the creative minds behind the project have reportedly indicated that they hope to release additional details in 2027, suggesting that it will likely be quite some time before this new series hits the screen.

Nevertheless, this is an exciting update, and it comes at a time that makes sense for the developer. At the same event this weekend, it was confirmed that, 13 years after RuneScape 3, RuneScape 4—a title that the official RuneScape website indicates might change at some point—is finally in the works. Considering that it’s been more than a decade since the most recent iteration of the game was released and now there have been two major announcements back-to-back for the franchise, it seems RuneScape is having a bit of a renaissance, and it will be fascinating to see what form that takes in the show in particular.

Among the more pressing questions is how the game will be adapted for a series. Unlike the previously mentioned games turned shows, such as The Last of Us, RuneScape doesn’t have a specific, pre-established main character with a built-in personality and physical traits, nor does it have one clearly defined linear narrative arc that can easily be adapted into a show; the game is intended to be extremely customizable. In that sense, the story is much more open-ended, which will presumably mean a lot more heavy lifting when it comes to translating the game into a series.

However, that might actually be good news for this upcoming show. One of the major potential pitfalls of video game adaptations, whether that’s movies or TV shows, is that audiences frequently come in with very specific expectations. When there’s a clear narrative arc and recognizable protagonists, audiences tend to already have a sense of what they want the characters to look and sound like, how they want the world to appear on screen, and what they’re open to in terms of a story. Too many deviations or creative liberties risk backlash, and that’s unfortunately a fairly common occurrence when it comes to this genre.

With something like RuneScape, though, there might be less room for that, which could give it a leg up compared to its many video game adaptation counterparts. Perhaps audiences won’t be as specific in terms of what they are looking for and will therefore be more open to giving it a chance. That remains to be seen, however, and at this point, it seems likely that it will be quite some time before that outcome is revealed. As with RuneScape 4, the release of this upcoming RuneScape series is expected to be a few years out.