'RuneScape' pulls in 105m players

Jagex has revealed that its RuneScape MMORPG has now "touched" over 105m players, making it officially "the world's biggest free game".

Following its release over eight years ago, the MMO now has over a million lines of scripted content and is updated with fresh material every week.

Speaking to Eurogamer, Jagex chief executive Mark Gerhard said that around ten million people regularly play the game but "105 million people have touched it".

Despite initially launching as a completely free offering supported by advertising, Jagex has since introduced an optional premium package for the game, with 20% of players switching to it almost immediately.

Gerhard said that this success means that the MMO could "possibly" generate as much money as World Of Warcraft, but that is not the most important mission for the studio.

"We're very, very conscious that every game has to be completely free: no demo, no trial - it's a completely free game. If you like it, if you want more, then there's the expansion pack too," he said.

"We don't measure the success of the business based on financial returns. The company is very strong financially, and it is thanks to RuneScape, but for us it's all about active players. It doesn't matter to us really if they're free or paying for the expansion - as long as it's going north we really don't care."