14 DAY TRIAL // Jagex, the company in charge of Runescape, is apparently taking a page out of Blizzard's book and releasing a collectible card game based on the huge fantasy universe of its massively multiplayer online role-playing game, titled Chronicle: Runescape Legends.
The upcoming game is scheduled to drop on Windows PC and Mac sometime next year, and will also be available on tablets and smartphones.
The company has so far been focused on developing browser-based games, so this marks a pretty big leap for Jagex.
A Runescape CCG sounds like a swell idea
"Played out within the pages of a living book the game focuses on quest building, allowing players to craft their own miniature RPGs against enemies, including classic RuneScape boss monsters, before entering into tense PvP combat," the official description of the game reads.
Chronicle: Runescape Legends is set in Gielinor, the world in which most of Runescape takes place. The collectible card game was announced this weekend, at RuneFest, and will enable fans of the MMORPG (and all the other card game enthusiasts, of course) to engage in some miniature role-playing game adventures in single-player, as well as in grueling multiplayer combat.
Jagex informed that it had been working on developing Chronicle: Runescape Legends since the beginning of 2014, and that more would be announced over the course of the following months.
The game follows Jagex's Transformers Universe, initially supposed to be released as a massively multiplayer online game, but eventually crafted into a multiplayer online battle arena, which is currently in open beta.
An alternative to Hearthstone
"We've been quietly developing Chronicle: Runescape Legends to ensure that it's not only a fun and compelling player experience, but one still very much interwoven into the rich lore of RuneScape," said Lead Designer James Sweatman.
The move to more familiar grounds will most likely prove beneficial to Jagex. If Transformers Universe isn't stirring up a fuss, being pretty quiet and low-profile, Runescape, the company's free-to-play browser-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game, is doing better than ever.
The company reported that even though the game was well in its thirteenth year and looked like it was being run on potato-powered Amish computers, the player numbers were steadily growing. Jagex even released some new content, a testament to the title's good health.
Blizzard Entertainment's Hearthstone became massively popular throughout its closed and open beta testing sessions, mainly due to known Twitch streamers playing it and its streamlined and accessible gameplay.
Runescape has a lot of livestreamers too, and its community is pretty loyal, which might translate into the upcoming game also seeing a lot of attention on Twitch and similar outlets.
