RuneScape’s “RuneLite HD” Mod Restored After Jagex and Modder Reach Agreement

After a huge protest by the Runescape community over a recent debacle where Jagex, the creator of Runescape shut down a long-awaited fan project called “RuneLite HD” a mere day before its release following a 2-year long development cycle. It seems that following a behind-the-scenes agreement, both Jagex and the modder have come to an agreement and that the RuneLite HD mod has been restored. Jagex has recently announced that the RuneLite HD mod will be freely available for the public on September 13.

RuneLite HD mod is a massive visual overhaul for Old School Runescape following a painstaking 2000+ hour-long development time by a single modder called “117”. Following the shut down a huge number of players flocked together to form an in-game protest against the mod’s sudden shutdown without any prior warning.

Following the protest, Jagex stated in a blog post, “We perfectly understand that you all have a voice in Old School, and that voice, at times, can be one of frustration regarding the decisions we make. Be assured that we always welcome your feedback, whether good or bad. We don’t always get it right, we are only human, and now we are rectifying our approach.”

He also cited the harassment against employees by fans and clarified that such behavior will not be tolerated.

117 also posted a statement on Twitter today saying, “I will be collaborating with Jagex on the direction of the project going forward so that it remains consistent with their vision for the game. This is not a compromise, it is something that I have dreamed of while working on this project.” Talking about the support he received from fans, he said, “Thank you to every single one of you for your expressions of dissatisfaction and support, and for making these past few days so positively surreal.”

Shutting down the RuneLite HD mod without any warning was a pretty bad move from the start, as the mod had been publicly announced in advance long before its release, and in a climate where modders are always in fear of being hunted down over such projects, its good to know that there are at least exceptions in some cases especially as long as people still have the power to go against such companies to speak in favor of the modding community.