Thank goodness Jagex began its existence at a time when it was still an independent company. The player base began to stagnate in the late 2000s an editor would probably have pulled the plug on the whole thing with OSRS Gold. The truth is, Raven Software started laying people off, while Warzone had made billions of dollars, so even a successful game could be a disaster for the players who made the game.

The successes we get just feel like an exception to the norm at times. The stars needed to align for Among Us to find its player base long after launch and, perhaps the best example before that - without the help of a large publisher - was Undertale earlier in the year.

It's the reason RuneScape The Beginning 20 Years isn't just essential reading for anyone who is a fan of this game. It's also essential for everyone who is interested in the direction the game's historical record is headed. It's a reminder that we should support the indie scene which is constantly competing for attention in a massive marketplace.

Most importantly this is a way to be proud of the humble start we made. The gaming industry may seem to be an absolutely disgusting space at times (because it often is), but at its heart there are passionate creators with a rich experience to be able to share with us.

A lot of us have lovely childhood memories of playing in Gielinor Not because some large corporation sold us the product and three brothers shared a passion along with their parents, who believed in their children. They are the ones we should be grateful to for the memories, not the superiors at Amazon as well as Activision Blizzard.

Steamforged Games recently announced the formation of a partnership with developer Jagex that will bring RuneScape to tabletops later this year. The MMORPG will receive not just one but two new tabletop editions: a board game as well as a tabletop role-playing game. The board game will launch on Kickstarter in the coming year, while the tabletop RPG will immediately hit stores.

Both games draw inspiration from RuneScape's fantasy world, Gielinor. They will draw on all the stories, characters and places that the MMORPG has made famous in its long history. The board game takes up at most five participants on a journey through the world of Gielinor.

As per the press release from Steamforged the Steamforged, players will "craft and upgrade equipment upgrade their characters, cook special recipes, engage with NPCs and test their skills while exploring different parts of the world". Just as with the online MMORPG, players are also likely to be able to complete side-quests in order to expand the world of the game.

While the TTRPG will be composed of an attractively illustrated core book with all the information required by players to run the RuneScape TTRPG. The players will be able to build their own characters and go off on a journey into the world of Gielinor to make "unique and thrilling quests". In addition the TTRPG base book is "fully aligned with fifth edition ruleset of the world's top tabletop role-playing game".

This venture is the first time that RuneScape will be available outside of a digital platform, something that Jagex Chief Executive Officer Phil Mansell is excited about:

"After the more than 21-year period of being only accessible digitally, we're thrilling to collaborate with Steamforged to develop and bring RS Gold game-based adventures for tabletop games...I am certain that RuneScape along with Old School RuneScape players will be ecstatic to get their hands on the miniatures planned to make their own adventures."