Runescape Dragonwilds release date window, early access, and more

Want to know the Runescape Dragonwilds release date? Jagex, the team behind the long-running Runescape series, is expanding into a new genre with the release of Runescape Dragonwilds. Set in the continent of Ashenfall, players will embark on a journey filled with mysterious monsters, magical abilities, and of course, teamwork.

Runescape Dragonwilds is a standalone survival game which sees groups of up to four players band together to take down the evil dragons in Ashenfall. Dragonwilds can be played as a standalone single player game or co-op, so you don't need to rely on your mates to go on this adventure.

Runescape Dragonwilds is scheduled to be released in Q4 2026, according to Jagex's roadmap blog post in June.

The original plan was to launch in early 2026, but now that the team has had time to establish a roadmap, the release date has been pushed back to accommodate all the upcoming updates.

Runescape Dragonwilds has been confirmed for release on PC, more specifically on Steam. As stated by IGN, Jagex has "hopes for a wider launch (including console) sometime in 2026". Unlike Runescape which offers a monthly subscription, Dragonwilds will be available as a one-time purchase on Steam, though the pricing for the full game has yet to be revealed.

Runescape Dragonwilds early access

The Runescape Dragonwilds early access release date was Tuesday, April 15, 2025. The game shadow-dropped after being revealed by Jagex during a deep-dive livestream on Twitch.

The early access build includes the first batch of regions, along with a building system, survival mechanics, and dungeons to explore. You also get a chance to take down General Velgar, the first dragon let loose in Ashenfall. Jagex wants to use the early access period to gather feedback from the community, and it's planning to release updates that add more content for free throughout early access.

Runescape Dragonwilds is currently priced at $29.99 / £24.99 during the early access period, but the developers have stated the price is going to go up when the game officially launches in 2026.

Runescape Dragonwilds roadmap

The developers posted the Runescape Dragonwilds roadmap on its blog in June 2025, detailing all the major updates coming to the game ahead of the 1.0 release date in 2026.

Here's a breakdown of everything on the Runescape Dragonwilds roadmap:

• June 2025: Magic Skill
• September 2025: Ranged Skill
• December 2025: Fellhollow (Farming and Steel)
• Q1 2026: Dowdun Reach (Fishing and Mithril)
• Q2 2026: Umbral Sands (Prayer and Adamant)
• Q3 2026: Scorned Wilderness  
• 1.0 release date
• End 2026: More platforms
• 2027: Shadows of Ashenfall

Runescape Dragonwilds trailers

There are currently two trailers for Runescape Dragonwilds showing off the world and gameplay. The world trailer gives us a tour of Ashenfall during a sunny day, unveiling a fantasy setting that gives off heavy Valheim vibes. We also get a glimpse of some dungeons and caves, which will undoubtedly be the home to deadly traps and creepy crawlies. There are shots of different biomes at night, including a dark green swamp area, and an ominous peek at a large tower during a lightning storm.

The gameplay teaser comes in at just 25 seconds, giving us a brief look at some of the mechanics we can expect from Dragonwilds. While the teaser primarily focuses on combat, there's a shot of some characters approaching an elderly wizard, suggesting there are NPCs to interact with.

We see multiple action-focused shots, including a soldier fighting using a Runescape Dragonwilds bow and arrow, another with a sword and shield, and a mage using magic to fight against orc-like creatures. Magic plays a large role in Dragonwilds, and that is shown in several scenes where it's used to cut down trees and build structures. The final scene shows a group of three players running towards a large green dragon, presumably General Velgar.

Runescape Dragonwilds gameplay

Runescape Dragonwilds is a survival game with crafting elements, so you can expect to gather resources, build structures, and fight against mobs across the game's range of biomes. The goal of the game is to kill the Dragon Queen, but first you must take down the rest of her dragon army.

According to IGN, the full game will have "two regions, with five unique biomes". They also say additional biomes could be added after the game launches, and this aligns with the information on Steam which states Jagex may release post-launch content as paid DLC.

There are three standard class archetypes to pick from: knight, archer, and mage. The Steam page mentions there are 'skill spells'—in Runescape, these are magical abilities that aid players outside of combat. We have a list of the Runescape Dragonwilds skills if you want to see what there is to unlock. There are also quests to pursue, with plenty of NPCs to look out for throughout Ashenfall. Exploring the map can take a while on foot, but you can unlock fast travel after a few hours in the game to jump around the world instantly.

Runescape Dragonwilds crossplay

Runescape Dragonwilds does feature partial controller support, and Jagex community manager, Mod Doom, has stated on Reddit that the team used Unreal Engine 5 partially to "future-proof for cross-platform play". Unreal Engine 5 is known for its scalability, so we wouldn't be surprised if Dragonwilds made its way onto Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch 2.

That's everything we know about the Runescape Dragonwilds release date right now, but stay tuned as we'll update this guide once we learn what else is being added to the crafting game in the future. Until then, we highly recommend giving our upcoming games list a read to discover more great experiences you have to look forward to.