RuneScape creator says his new MMO doesn't have to worry about investors: "There's no publishers, no one breathing down my neck ... I want people to enjoy my game"
Mar. 15, 2024Andrew Gower’s new MMO is entirely self-funded
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
As original RuneScape creator Andrew Gower marches towardthe release of his new MMO, Brighter Shores, later this year, he’s comforted by the fact that his small team of just eight developers only has to answer to themselves.
“We’re in a very lucky position where there’s no external investors,” Gower says in an interview with GamesRadar+. “Because I’ve been able to fund this entirely myself off my previous success. There’s no external investors, there’s no publishers, there’s no one breathing down my neck saying we’ve got to meet these guidelines.
“I want players,” he continues. “I want people to enjoy my game. That’s what I really, really want. You know, I miss running an MMO and having lots of players enjoying it. So yeah, I’m really, really focused on getting as many people playing as possible rather than making as much money as possible. Obviously, I’m hoping one will lead to the other to a degree.
“The reason we’re a team of eight, you know, I could have been putting in more, but I wanted to do it at a level that was sustainable based on what I can afford to fund without having to resort to external investors. Obviously, once we’ve launched the game and we’ve got some revenue coming in, my hope is to grow the team. And as such, you produce content more quickly. But the reason why we’ve stuck with it for so long is because I wanted something where I would not have to rely on that external investment.”
“You buy the premium pass and it gives you access to absolutely everything we’ve released up to that date,” he explains. “But obviously, we expect that when we release new episodes, that will drive people to take out a premium pass to enjoy that new episode. And then they might play that for a bit, and then we’ll bring out another episode, and then they’ll buy another premium pass and enjoy that season.”
As Gower tells me about his new MMO,it sounds more and more like a dream game for folks who want a “nice, relaxing escape”– especially RuneScape fans.
Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
Former WoW and League of Legends MMO dev showing off new game today, but be warned - “We’re taking Unreal Man with a bunch of store-bought assets”
WoW veteran says the MMO’s devs had to make “ten times the amount of quests” as originally planned to sate playtesters, and now the game has 38,000 of them
All of the OG MCU Avengers should return as villains, starting with Avengers: Doomsday
