The classic MMORPG RuneScape has been in development since 2001, going through various iterations in that time. Last year proved fruitful for the game thanks in-part to the release of RuneScape 3‘s Desperate Measures update, but developer Jagex also saw success in its charitable ventures. Jagex announced on Twitter Thursday that it raised £445,778 for mental health charities in 2020, which translates to just over $609,500.
The developer runs numerous charitable initiatives, which CEO Phil Mansell said focus on “supporting the mental health and wellbeing of young people” on Jagex’s website. That same landing page for Jagex charity initiatives links to a few different organizations that RuneScape fans can support, including CPSL Mind, The Prince’s Trust, and Rise Above The Disorder (RAD).
On top of these three regular charity partners, Jagex raised money for additional groups in 2020, according to its recent Tweet: Special Effect, which focuses on supporting gamers with physical disabilities; Blueprint for All, which aims to “create an inclusive society;” and the UK’s National Videogame Museum, which acts as a “cultural centre” to celebrate video games and educate both players and makers. This announcement comes at the end of a holiday season full of charitable endeavors, such as Tiltify partnering with Twitch streamers.
As big as 2020 apparently was for Jagex’s charitable initiatives, the year also saw a lot more movement for its flagship MMO RuneScape than just the Desperate Measures update. The game officially released on Steam in October 2020, and Jagex partnered with Amazon Prime to offer players special rewards if they linked their accounts to Prime Gaming.
These Prime benefits work for those playing the current RuneScape 3 build as well as those playing Old School RuneScape, a recreation of its Java-based iteration that existed prior to RuneScape 3. With Old School RuneScape being available on mobile devices and receiving its own independent updates, the game broke its concurrent player record in November 2020 with over 173,000 players active at once.
That this active playerbase has also contributed to charitable efforts is nice to see, especially as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and worldwide shutdowns throughout 2020 likely increased the need for mental health services and awareness. Time will tell whether Jagex exceeds this level of donations in 2021, but in the meantime there are other developers raising money for good causes. For example, Bungie’s Game2Give drive raised over $300,000 for the Bungie Foundation and Children’s Miracle Network in just one day last month.
RuneScape is available now on Mobile and PC.
Source: Jagex
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