The renowned (and old) MMO RuneScape has now been around long enough to both introduce microtransactions and rip them right back out of the game. Earlier this month, RuneScape's developer Jagex put the fate of its game in the hands of its community, erecting a poll and inviting players to vote to remove Treasure Hunter, the game's conduit for microtransactions. In a win for the staunchly anti-microtransaction crowd, the Treasure Hunter poll – which pulled in more than 120,000 votes when only 100,000 were needed – has passed the measure. As a result, Treasure Hunter, which has been part of RuneScape since 2014, is being excised from the MMO beginning January 19, 2026. With it, more than 200 methods to directly purchase experience will disappear, too. The change will kick off what Jagex is dubbing "a year-long Integrity Roadmap" which aims to better the game and correct longstanding issues that have plagued it. The fate of one of the oldest living MMOs, and one of the worst microtransaction shops ever, is up for a vote "The French make wine and the Germans make cars and Jagex makes RuneScape": In 5 years, new CEO wants RuneScape to be at least "the second biggest MMO" in the West behind World of Warcraft, and says "we're already very close to that" After report on MMO's bot problem, players bait piles of "clankers" to their doom like they're poisoning AI: ask "how many" and armies of bots reply in eery unison The move to make this "integrity" change a community-wide vote echoes an earlier initiative from Jagex, which similarly polled RuneScape players when it first toyed with the idea of reviving Old School RuneScape more than a decade ago. These days, Old School RuneScape's major updates are still mostly dictated by these votes. In theory, the Treasure Hunter activity gives away keys on a daily basis, allowing players to net free rewards like XP boosts and gameplay-skipping items. In practice though, it has turned RuneScape into a pay-to-win game by inviting many to open their wallets and pay for even more keys beyond the initial free allotment, a move that Jagex has admitted has harmed the MMO and its community. Arrowhead boss wants Helldivers 2 to be a "forever game" like RuneScape that can keep improving, with "no plans" for a sequel