RuneFest 2026

When I started working in the games industry as a QA tester on RealTime Worlds’ APB in Dundee, I never imagined I would move across the country, settle in Cambridge, spend nearly 15 years at Jagex, and eventually write about attending my ninth RuneFest.

RuneFest is Jagex’s celebration of all things Gielinor - an event whose atmosphere is difficult to put into words. Planning starts nearly a year before to deliver this celebration, and this year it was the largest ever. 6,000 players and over 300 JMOD staff travelled from around the world to the Birmingham NEC, bringing the very best of RuneScape, Old School RuneScape and Dragonwilds under one roof!

I don't know whether it's the caesura provided by a company work trip, the thrill of seeing the faces of the people we work so hard to entertain, or even Mod Jester going on about it like he’s just pulled a party hat from a Christmas cracker, but RuneFest is always the highlight of my professional year. Whilst we all may enjoy the company Christmas party or the well-being day, RuneFest is by an immeasurable distance, the highlight.

Throughout the event, there are talks and presentations about game content, meet-and-greets, skill chip activities, questing tasks, merchandise sales and many other activities. These are spread across a large conference hall, with theming styles that match places and landmarks in the games.

This year, I was assigned as one of the two area managers for the Fishing Skill Chip activity. The activity involved players climbing onto a jetty and catching fish with magnetic fishing rods. The aim was to catch as many as you could in one minute, then add your total to a leaderboard. After this, every participant was awarded a skillchip. As area manager for any skillchip activity, your role is to monitor the area and ensure it runs smoothly, reporting any issues to the ops team.

Even now, reading that aloud, it sounds a little bit bonkers, but at RuneFest the fishing skill chip activity was enormously popular. We saw thousands of players take part, catching manta rays, sharks, and shrimps all in the name of topping the leaderboard. The first day was intense, with almost non-stop running, but with a mix of team spirit and a constant supply of Haribo, we maxed out our day. After an hour, we had optimised our approach, although the noise of fishing rods clanking on the floor and getting tangled will give me nightmares.

The day mostly flew by; it is always heartwarming to see the RuneScape community genuinely appreciate the work of a web engineer (who has little impact on playable game content) that contributes to their world. Lately, I have been fixing some intricate problems in Jagex's web systems, and it's easy to lose sight of the player at the end, chasing that next 99 but depending on the very systems you support. I believe having this connection with the player base is one of our greatest strengths.

Come the evening, the keynotes and Mod North's announcement for RS4 sent RuneFest into the next level of buzz and anticipation. To support this announcement, I had my second ask of the evening. I led the launch of the web-based content so players could learn more about these updates. As with any truly live event, timelines change, and we had to promptly reschedule our website changes to sync up, and we did it with literally 20 seconds to spare. Despite this last-minute deadline change, the other web team members and I aligned our content and delivered it on time.

As it hit 9 pm, the DJ (our very own Mod Scratcher) pumped out some belters on the RuneFest stage. Now, mixing may not be a RuneScape skill, but if it were, Scratcher would be the first to 99 and beyond. I enjoyed a few anthems before grabbing a well-earned drink and chatting with other players and staff. As the night arrived, we retired to our hotels to do it all again on Sunday.

After detangling the fishing rods again (a recurring theme on our jetty of otherwise awesomeness), the team carried on where we left off. We optimised our processes and, bar the odd oceanic drink spill (a beer falling onto the fish), saw enthusiastic fishers shake the leaderboard up with team scores. I signed more swords, autograph books and memorabilia than one could imagine; I will always treasure the interactions here, and I hope every interaction improved somebody's day a little bit.

As the day drew to a close, the team said their goodbyes, and I made my way to the station bound for a train to London, briefly racing our CFO down the NEC hallways as I scrambled onto the Avanti train, feeling like I had just run from Prifddinas to Menaphos!

Reflecting now, it is always about the people. The players, my fellow fishing-team volunteers and my colleagues. It is simply phenomenal to be a part of it. Back at my desk, I am still warmly reminded that ...

...and I know I will always remember that.

Credits

Photos: Winward Photography