Runescape creator is releasing a new free-to-play MMO—and it looks familiar

One of Runescape’s co-creators, Andrew Gower, has announced a brand new free-to-play MMO set to launch later this year—and it looks incredibly familiar.

Announced on March 13 by Gower on X, Brighter Shores has a lot of similarities to Gower’s previous works in its looks and gameplay, and honestly, if you had shown me this trailer without the title, I would have assumed we were getting Runescape 4.

Like Runescape, Brighter Shores is a tile-based interactive MMO that gives players different jobs and professions to level up. Its monetization strategy is also near-identical to Runescape, with free-to-play offering a small number of areas to explore and a premium pass opening up more areas and features.

Interestingly, paying for the premium pass is the only way to unlock player-to-player trading, which could be a sticking point if some professions require certain rare items or exist only to make money.

In an interview with PCGamer, Gower shed some light on what players could expect from Brighter Shores that makes it different from Runescape, which includes a reduction of “grindy gameplay” and ensuring fighting isn’t the focus. After all, leveling in any MMO, let alone Runescape, is tedious when trying to get to a certain level to unlock something you need for quests. So, I welcome these ambitions wholeheartedly.

Brighter Shores has no release date but will release sometime in Q3 2024. So until then, all we can do is wait to see more.