RuneScape Developer Jagex Allegedly Axed 2025 Pride Events To Focus On "What Players Wanted," Company Spokesman Affirms Commitment To Sinful LGBTQ+ Lifestyles

A new report alleges that RuneScape developer Jagex axed 2025 pride events in order to focus on “what players wanted.”

This report from the radical LGBTQ+ website Pink News claims that new CEO Jon Bellamy informed Jagex staff that the company would not be creating any pride month content so that developers could focus “on what players wanted” instead.

According to the report, a number of developers wanted to implement pride month content anyways claiming that the work was nearly complete and they would make it in their own time with the implication they would not get paid to do so.

A letter written by Jagex DEI groups to the executive team on May 15th stated, “Dear Jagex executive team, we are writing to ask you to restart development on the new Pride content for 2025, and to make a commitment that Pride will continue to be an annual seasonal event in both Old School and RuneScape.”

“We are all aware of the difficult political climate in gaming and the wider world,” the letter continued. “We understand that openly presenting ourselves as a diverse and inclusive company could be seen as a risk. However, as outlined below, the data from previous Pride events as well as the pronoun changes in Old School clearly shows that despite a vocal minority engaging in bigoted behaviour online, this did not translate to a loss of revenue.”

“We are writing to you because we believe in Jagex, we believe in our players, and we believe that not giving into hate is the right decision for the business in the long term,” it concluded.

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The executives responded a week later on May 22nd according to an anonymous employee who told Pink News, “As a studio, we must stay grounded in the mission we all share, and that’s making great games for players. Our job is not to use the game as an outlet for our own views, but to craft worlds that serve our players, offering immersion, escape and meaning.”

“That responsibility asks each of us to apply good judgement and to make creative decisions that resonate across a wide and diverse community – and that’s what we’ve tried to do here,” they added.

An official comment from Jagex affirmed that the company is still committed to pushing disordered and sinful LGBTQ+ lifestyles. A spokesman said, “Jagex is a strong supporter and ally of the LGBTQ+ community, with a firm belief that our games should be a safe space for all our players and celebrates people of all identities.”

As for its pride content, the spokesman shared, “In April, we took the difficult decision to pause work on new in-game Pride content for 2025 and communicated this with our teams. Our development focus is on crafting worlds that serve what our players have been asking us for, offering immersion, escape, and meaning. Our existing Pride content from previous years remains live in-game, as was always our intention, and we are proud to support our community-led Pride marches, which have been taking place this week.”

“Alongside this, we’re working with our internal DEI committee to explore broader, more meaningful ways to celebrate Pride across Jagex, including possible partnerships and charitable support,” he added. “Our goal is to listen, learn, and find better ways to support all players and employees.”

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Jagex faced significant backlash last year when it launched an update for Old School RuneScape to allow players to choose between Body Type A and Body Type rather than male and female.

The company shared in patch notes, “In the updated Makeover interface, players may now choose between Body Type A and Body Type B, offering the freedom to pick either body type without the restriction of gender labels.”

Furthermore, it added, “To give you even more room for self-expression, you can now choose a preferred pronoun for your player character from the following options: He/Him, She/Her, or They/Them. You can also continue without selecting a pronoun, if that’s what you prefer. The game will use the default based on body type, similar to how it has always been.”

The developer did not stop there. It also added, “All facial hair styles can now be used with both body types.”

Jagex developers dismissed the backlash with Program Manager JagexAsh responding to one individual, “I wouldn’t have expected you to see it very often unless you’re switching up at the Makeover Mage really regularly, but thanks for letting me know you no longer wish to play due to players having that text option. All the best with your future gaming :)”

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In response to another individual he wrote, “Tbh, there were similar doom predictions when we first ran Pride events, and they just didn’t seem to come true year after year, however many times social media predicted it. Thanks for the warning, though :)”

After another individual shared a screenshot of his canceled subscription, JagexAsh replied, “I’m afraid the inclusion changes released over the last years are intended to stay. I’m glad we were able to talk about the screen shake, but if this becomes the last time you’re around, thanks very much for playing, and all the best for your future gaming :)”

He would go on to mock another individual as well, “In all the years you’ve been playing, the game’s actually always used pronouns to refer to you in thousands of bits of text across the game. Previously players just didn’t get much choice about which, so we’ve made the game just a little more accommodating :)”

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However, it’s quite possible the backlash was more than just “mean posts on X” as a number of individuals shared they had cancelled their subscriptions. In fact, Jagex announced that at least nine individuals had been laid off earlier this month. Reddit user Stuckinfemalecloset shared that the employees include Astar, Bam-Head, Fowl, Jack, Kitsune, Mickey, Pebble, Stead, and Timbo.

Mod Hooli confirmed the layoffs claiming the company was going through a restructure.

He wrote on Reddit, “Yes, there have unfortunately been job reductions at Jagex. These have been made as part of changes in a company restructure as Jagex puts more emphasis on RuneScape games and community growth.”

“The majority of roles are from non-game dev and non-player facing areas,” he continued. “There are some exceptions within the RS team as part the company's focus on a streamlined development approach.”

Hooli added, “I’m sure many of you are concerned about what this means for RuneScape 3. This is not a change in direction from what Mod North has said before – we are still committed to growing this game and investing in it. Our Roadmap won’t change because of these job reductions, and we’ll continue the great path we’ve been on with our content. We will talk to you about this when the time is right. What matters most right now are the people affected by this change. The studio’s focus is to support those affected, as is mine. Now is the time we put them first and do everything we can to help them out.”

What do you make of this report and the spokesman’s statements?

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