Thank goodness Jagex was founded at a point that it was able to remain an independent

"It was really not earning any money, but we'd invested so much effort at this point that there were so many people engaged," said Andrew Gower in one of the book's numerous interviews with RS Gold. "It was exciting to see 2,000 or even 3,000 users enjoying the game at once, loads of players talking on forums, and everyone was enjoying RuneScape. I just wanted to make it. It was enjoyable, even if it wasn't financially profitable".

This is the reason why we had the free membership to remain - because they didn't intend to dissuade their members. As we've seen, it definitely worked, as the popularity of the game only increased. However, as The First 20 Years explains, RuneScape didn't reach its peak without some blunders at some point.

The majority of us who played it regularly during the 2000s were likely to struggle with the first-ever release which is now known as RuneScape Classic. Players could attack anyone, even each other. The graphics were not basic. It was able to accommodate about 1,200 players without breaking.

Games aren't allowed to be a mess any longer. Titanfall 2 isn't getting the funding it needs to improve its online play on PC. Anthem was cancelled halfway through the process of the major overhaul. Fable Legends was pulled before it had even been able to launch. No, now you either have to be Fortnite or perish trying.

A developer's passion may seem unimportant to a publisher as well. Dragon Age 4 has been cancelled twice because of superior interference continuously dictating the game's direction. Metal Gear players that clearly prefer one-player games, purchased the co-op game Metal Gear Survive in 2018. And that's not even to go into the many subsidiaries Activision Blizzard wastes on constant Call of Duty development.

Thank goodness Jagex was founded at a point that it was able to remain an independent. The player base began to decline in the latter part of 2000s it is likely that a publisher would have shut down it all. It's true that Raven Software started laying people off during the time Warzone had made billions, so even the game's success could spell doom for the players behind the game.

The successes we receive are just a few exceptions from the normal. The stars needed to align for Among Us to find its player base long after launch and, perhaps the most notable instance before that, without the support of a huge publisher was Undertale in 2017.

This is why RuneScape The Initial 20 Years isn't just essential reading for any fans of gaming, it's essential for anyone who cares about the direction in which gaming history is heading in Buy RuneScape Gold. It's an affirmation that we should support the indie scene that is always fighting for attention in a massive market.