admin
The cost of videogames will always be a hot topic. As prices seem to increase exponentially – the base edition of GTA 6 is rumored to run you $100 – and microtransactions continue to cause backlash in live-service titles, striking the balance is becoming a fine art. Jagex’s pricing structure has come under fire before, with a recent survey fanning the flames. So, when Runescape Dragonwilds launched in early access as a premium, one-time purchase priced at $29.99 / £25.99, it raised some eyebrows – prime competitor Valheim clocks in at $19.99 / £15.49, for comparison. In an exclusive launch interview with PCGamesN, I ask creative director Rick ‘Mod Rook’ Turek about that decision.
In the wake of a busy 2024, there are a lot of survival games to choose from. There’s the stalwart Valheim, newcomers like Nightingale and Enshrouded, and upcoming PC games like Dune Awakening, all vying for a spot in an overcrowded genre. With the exception of Dune Awakening (which clocks in at $49.99 / £41.99 for the finished product), all of the above are priced slightly less than Runescape Dragonwilds – Valheim significantly so.
Given the busyness of the survival sphere, I ask why Jagex landed on a premium with Dragonwilds, and how it settled on the current price point – something that’s caused a stir on the game’s subreddit.
“From the first conception of Runescape Dragonwilds, we were like, ‘this game is going to be a premium title,’” he tells me. “You pay a price and you get the game. We will be doing expansions from early access, and all of these will be free for anyone who’s bought into early access for as long as it’s live. All of the people who have early access will get 1.0.
“In the future we want to be able to bring out new features and new experiences, maybe new modes or new content, and that will most likely be with some sort of DLC, just so we can keep our game going if people are vibing with it. But the heart of the games that I play are not massively monetized or MTX driven; they are premium products.
“We have some luxury with the Runescape games; they’re MMOs, they live and they breathe. With Dragonwilds we wanted to create something that you can complete, and it was really essential for us to deliver on that promise. In the future things can evolve and change, but we will be delivering that promise for everyone who’s bought in.”
But, when compared to competitors, the price is a little higher. Several comments on the subreddit draw the same parallel to Iron Gate Studio’s Valheim, which retails for $10 less. I ask if that’s a concern.
“You’re always trying not to devalue yourself,” Turek says. “We did a lot of testing with audiences. We’ve been doing research, and when we did our alphas and previous playtests we would ask the question: ‘how much would you pay for this game in early access?’ We kind of lowballed ourselves with what people were saying because we still wanted to retain value for the player – we have about 20 to 30 hours of content and stuff you can explore with infinite play, especially if you’re really into building and exploration.
“There is a lot there. It’s super difficult to find the right price point, but it was informed by a lot of data from players,” he concludes.
Jagex shadow-dropped Runescape Dragonwilds on Tuesday April 15. It’s available now on Steam, and you can check out our impressions here.
If you’re planning on exploring Gielinor with some pals, check out our list of all of the Runescape Dragonwilds skills so that you know which trees to focus on. Alternatively, we’ve been exploring far and wide and have touched every corner of the Runescape Dragonwilds map, so do yourself a favor and check out our guide ahead of time.
You can follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides. We’ve also got a vibrant community Discord server, where you can chat about this story with members of the team and fellow readers.
