20 years of MMO history comes full circle as Old School RuneScape reveals official "community servers" that give players "full control over gameplay modifiers"

MMOs and private servers go together like peanut butter and legally questionable jelly, and few MMOs can match RuneScape, now the resurrected and retrofitted Old School RuneScape, for the sheer volume and variety of unofficial fan-made variants. These "private servers" usually boiled down to a much faster way to obtain rare items and high levels compared to the actual game, but they came in all shapes and sizes, from imbalanced PvP badlands that had worse economies than the 1930s, to serious role-playing and quest hubs that were legitimately thoughtfully designed. 

The most iconic RuneScape private server may be Moparscape, its 2000s-tinged black-and-white launch screen ingrained in the minds of countless OSRS players. If I shut my eyes, I can still see the car. But we may see a new server claim the throne in the years ahead, because OSRS developer Jagex has just revealed official "community servers" under the banner of Project Zanaris, which would give the MMO's player base "full control" over the rules of the game. 

"Jagex is delighted to reveal the first look at Project Zanaris, a major new Community Servers project that allows Old School RuneScape players to set their own rules and create their own adventures for their friends, Clan, or the whole community," the company announced as part of the 2024 OSRS Summer Summit event. "Project Zanaris is a place where anyone can create and share a new Old School RuneScape experience – or play in someone else’s – with full control over gameplay modifiers and creating customized experiences. Look out for additional information on Project Zanaris soon."

A Summer Summit blurb additionally teases ways to "search and play different experiences" and "recreate beloved game modes or invent your own." It also reiterates that "you make the rules," hinting at the hands-on approach to iteration and creation.

The full scope of these community servers remains to be seen. Project Zanaris still appears fairly formative, with a rough timeline seemingly positioning it as a late-2025 (or perhaps even 2026) release. Besides that, OSRS updates often change significantly during development based on player feedback and polls. But at face value, given the success of official game variants like Leagues and Deadman Mode, not to mention player-run tournaments and contests that can draw huge viewership, the idea of Jagex-sanctioned private servers is tantalizing. OSRS is still thriving in no small part thanks to player creativity, so these servers could become an amazing platform. 

The main game is due for some major updates of its own. Speaking of Leagues and Deadman Mode, Leagues 5: Raging Echoes promises "a new system that gives greater control of your battle buffs," as well as souped-up superbosses with new mechanics and better loot, all set for late November. One idea from Deadman Mode is slithering into the mainline game, too: inspired by the "breaches" in the latest Deadman, the world boss "Wrathmaw" is coming to the Wilderness in November. 

OSRS is teeing up more Varlamore regional updates for this month and spring 2025, new "upper mid-game" bosses for spring 2025, and an early 2025 game jam eyeing features like the collection log and player-owned housing. More generally, Sailing, the first new skill to ever come to the game, is coming along, and a ground-up graphical and API update for lighting, water, weather, and community plugins is on the calendar as well. OSRS is currently riding high after the recent release of – this will sound far-fetched – another spider boss, and shows no signs of slowing down. 

After 6 years living as a monk and a total of 19 years later, MMO player returns to Old School RuneScape and proves the classic phrase: you don't quit, you take breaks.