Runelite HD is a mod (made by one person, 117) that takes Old School RuneScape and gives you a high definition makeover.
Since 2018, Jagex has been issuing legal threats against modds like this, claiming they were a copyright infringement, but seemed to have flown them like Jagex gave his blessing to the original Runelite.
However, earlier this week, a few hours before the improvement Runelite HD had to be officially launched, Jagex contacted 117 to demand that the work be stopped and the launch canceled. This time, though, it doesn’t depend on copyright claims, but because Jagex says they’re doing their thing own HD update.
In a statement posted on the game’s website, Jagex says:
In this blog we would like to clarify our position regarding third-party clients in high definition (and other projects that try to radically change the visual aspect of the game). We know you have a lot of questions about them and we believe this will provide you with all the clarity we need.
Yesterday we contacted the developers of well-known HD projects and asked them to stop developing their projects, because this is a project we are researching directly at Jagex. We look forward to sharing progress as our own internal project unfolds with Old School images.
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While at first this seems a bit fair, there is a big problem Runelite HD it doesn’t really do that violate any of the Jagex moding guidelines, and the company says the new guidelines explain the fact Runelite HD does In fact, breaking its guidelines will be released next week.
To understandabove all, fans think this is incredibly bleak and have started staging a protest at the game:
Modification creator 117 says he tried to commit to Jagex, even offering to remove his modification once the company finished and launched its own efforts, but “refused directly,” apparently meaning the end of a project that had consumed “approximately more than 2000 hours” of work over two years ”.
Yesterday, September 6, 2021, RuneLite HD would have been released. The code had been reviewed and bugs had been fixed, it was ready. You would have been playing right now. However, at the eleventh hour, Jagex contacted me to ask me to remove it in light of the revelation that they have a similarly themed graphic improvement project that is “relatively early in the stages of ‘exploration’.
I offered to commit to removing my project from RuneLite once they were ready to launch theirs, as well as allowing them collaborative control over the visual direction of my project. They refused directly.
So it looks like this is the end. Approximately 2000 hours of work over two years. A huge return of support from all of you. I could never have imagined the overwhelmingly positive response I have had to this project.
I am more disappointed and frustrated with Jagex, and I am very sorry that, after this long journey, I cannot share this project with you.