Developer Jagex has announced it will retire Treasure Hunter — a monetized feature that has been part of RuneScape since 2014 — after players overwhelmingly voted for its removal. The studio opened a community vote and, following widespread support, committed to implementing the change. Jagex published the proposal and pledged to follow the community’s decision.
Treasure Hunter is one of RuneScape’s microtransaction systems: a daily mechanic that grants keys players can use to open chests with rewards such as gear or experience. Over time the feature drew controversy as some promotions veered toward gambling-like mechanics — at one point allowing players to risk existing rewards for a chance at better ones. Jagex later scaled back those promotions and apologized, saying it aimed to refine Treasure Hunter to improve player experience without sacrificing revenue.
That episode also demonstrated Jagex’s willingness to listen. In subsequent years the studio experimented with alternative monetization models — battle passes and quality-of-life, service-style purchases among them — while publicly acknowledging player concerns. In 2019 Jagex told the community it was aware of its overreliance on Treasure Hunter and wanted to address it. A company Q&A from that period made the intention explicit.
Some experiments received a poor reception, but Jagex kept gathering feedback and iterating. In 2024 the studio’s survey data indicated that nearly half of respondents were dissatisfied with the game’s microtransactions, and a notable share of former players said they might return if monetization became fairer. Coverage at the time summarized the community reaction.
“Our MTX approach is harming RuneScape and it’s time that we took action,” Jagex declared in the summer of 2025, and the studio followed with several short-lived adjustments to how microtransactions were offered. Those tweaks — some lasting only a few weeks — tested different directions, including limited returns of discontinued cosmetics for purchase. In late October 2025 Jagex presented a bolder option to the community: entirely remove Treasure Hunter.
The poll opened on October 29, 2025, and Jagex promised to implement the change if it received 100,000 affirmative votes. For perspective, RuneScape reached a peak concurrent player count of roughly 200,000 in 2024, but millions have accounts and any registered user could cast a ballot. The threshold was met in under 24 hours, and Jagex announced it will honor the result.
The removal won’t be instantaneous — Jagex plans to retire Treasure Hunter and end experience- and skill-based purchases in January 2026 — and the change is part of a broader, year-long initiative the studio is calling the “Integrity Roadmap.” According to Jagex, the roadmap will address fundamental, long-running pain points across the game: interface and visual identity, combat, dailyscape, early- and mid-game progression, and more, with the goal of creating a fairer, more cohesive player experience.
Community discussion has underlined why monetization matters for RuneScape’s audience. As one Reddit contributor noted in a recent thread about Jagex’s experiments, RuneScape’s core players tend to be older and have limited playtime. That demographic values systems that streamline progression and save time, which can make them more willing to pay for convenience — but it’s a fragile balance.
“But it isn’t sustainable,” the poster argued. “Older players eventually quit, but no one takes their place. It will be a tough balancing exercise to not scare off these players while attracting new players.” The thread captures a mix of nostalgia, frustration, and cautious optimism.
Jagex is framing the Treasure Hunter removal as one component of a wider transformation. Jon Bellamy, Jagex’s CEO, emphasized the studio’s renewed focus on fairness and long-term improvements, saying the changes aim to deliver deeper value for players across all its titles.
Source: Polygon
