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Old School RuneScape is competing with WoW Forever – but not on purpose

"Unfortunate coincidence."

A character from Old School RuneScape in a blue shirt looking towards the logo for World of Warcraft Forever.

Jagex, Blizzard

Published: Saturday, 17 October 2026 at 8:00 am

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When Jagex announced the introduction of Hardcore Worlds to Old School RuneScape, even they were quick to note the coincidental release date.

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The update is set to hit the game on 4 November, which just so happens to be the same day as an update for a different, little known MMO called World of Warcraft.

In a chat at RuneFest with OSRS senior game designer Elena Nordmark (Mod Elena), I asked if this date was chosen on purpose to compete with WoW Forever.

"Unfortunate coincidence," she began. "Basically, we were laying out our roadmap internally, and obviously we've got Raids coming out soon.

"We didn't want Hardcore to be too close to Raids because Raids is super hype, and a lot of the people who enjoy Raids are also going to want to enjoy Hardcore, and maybe even do the Raid again in Hardcore, right? They might Raid to world first, for example."

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But while the early November release date lined up well with their internal roadmap, WoW Forever certainly played on the minds of the OSRS team.

"When World of Warcraft announced their release, we had discussions on whether to move it or not. Ultimately, we decided, you know what? People can play both. We're a second screen/monitor game, right?

"We actually make a really active point of trying to make sure that we always have something in-game that matches the amount of attention that the player can give to the game.

"So we make sure that we have both 'leaned-in' content like Raids and Dungeons of Gielinor. But we also want to make sure that we have more relaxed, laid-back methods that you can play on your second monitor or on mobile.

"So yeah, not intentional, but we do appreciate it's not a great date."

Hardcore Worlds was but one of many big announcements to come from the OSRS Summit at this year's RuneFest.

Between multiple new quests, Raids IV, Dungeons of Gielinor, quest week, Menaphos, and of course Hardcore Worlds, one wonders how OSRS players will find the time to enjoy it all.

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Authors

Black and white cut-out portrait headshot of Alex Raisbeck, smiling against a lime green background.

Alex RaisbeckGaming writer

Alex Raisbeck is a Gaming Writer at Radio Times, covering everything from AAA giants to indie gems. Alex has written for VideoGamer, GamesRadar+, PC Gamer, PCGamesN and more.

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