It’s hard to believe it’s been over two decades since I first ventured into the world that eventually became Old School RuneScape. Gielinor has transformed dramatically, with its landmasses expanding to offer countless new adventures, earning its place among the best MMOs. The world map, once speckled with mystery-shrouded “black boxes,” is now fully revealed. Yet, a vast, unexplored ocean of blue tiles still beckons. For years, players have dreamed and debated the possibility of a Sailing skill, imagining what treasures and dangers lay beyond known shores. After two decades, countless memes, and even a few infamous April Fool’s jokes, Sailing is finally here. With its launch slated for November 19, we caught up with Jagex’s Kieren Charles (design director), Ed Pilkington (principal narrative designer), and Elena Nordmark (senior game designer) to get an exclusive behind-the-scenes look.
Sailing holds a special place in RuneScape’s history and lore. For years, our adventures across Gielinor have involved hitching rides on NPC ships—from the iconic Lady Lumbridge ferrying us to Crandor to confront Elvarg, to the festive Tempoross party boat. This concept of sea travel has always been deeply ingrained in the Old School RuneScape experience, as familiar as those frustrating Barrows drops or the lively debates at the Gemstone Crabbers. Yet, the dream of building our own vessel and exploring the uncharted waters beyond Gielinor’s known shores remained an elusive mystery, until now.
Once the idea of Sailing ignited the community, Jagex, in typical fashion, embraced the excitement. They playfully announced the feature in 2007 (on April Fool’s Day, no less!), a jest they reprised in 2014, before finally presenting a serious vision for the skill in 2015. RuneScape’s unique development process dictates that all new features are subject to community polls, requiring a significant ‘yes’ vote to pass. Sailing faced its share of rejections, much like Marty McFly’s audience not being ready for his music, until players finally gave it the green light in 2023. So, what fueled Jagex’s persistent return to Sailing throughout all these years?
“It’s all about the mystery of the unexplored ocean,” Charles reveals. “Sailing perfectly aligns with the game’s core themes. It’s a vast area players haven’t truly engaged with before. We’ve always used NPC boats, but the idea of commanding your own vessel, discovering new islands, and uncovering underwater secrets feels like a natural progression. We’ve discussed it for years, and it’s high time we give players that freedom. The sheer transformation of the world map with Sailing is going to be incredible.”
Pilkington adds with a smile, “There’s a brilliant, almost humorous, aspect to it. Old School RuneScape thrives on its ‘old school’ identity, preserving the game’s classic feel and vibe even with weekly updates. In a peculiar way, a skill that started as a community joke becoming a reality feels incredibly on-brand for OSRS.”
While Jagex has steadily expanded Gielinor’s landmass, adding regions like the vast continent of Zeah in 2016 and concluding the Varlamore expansion amidst record-breaking OSRS popularity, Sailing represents a different kind of growth. Instead of homogenous landmasses, it scatters diverse biomes across the world’s oceans. Some islands promise rich resources, while others host unique oceanic life, such as the charming Tortugans. A significant design hurdle for Jagex was ensuring the sea itself offered engaging activities, making exploration worthwhile. Nordmark highlights this as a profound learning experience for the team, particularly in balancing space and maintaining player interest.
Nordmark explains, “The ocean’s sheer size presented a core design question: ‘What defines where you can and cannot sail?’ Similar to how higher Woodcutting levels unlock better axes, we envisioned different types of waters requiring greater Sailing skill to navigate effectively. This led us to strategically limit initial accessible areas, ensuring not only a clear progression path but also reserving vast regions for future content. This was the foundational concept.”
She elaborates, “We put considerable thought into the content density at sea, knowing it differs vastly from land. Take Lumbridge, for instance: it’s packed with activities – woodcutting, sheep shearing, goblin slaying, numerous quests. When considering the ocean, we questioned if replicating that density was even desirable. Real-world oceans are sparse. But for a game, absolute emptiness is dull. Striking that balance – making the sea interesting without overwhelming it – proved to be a novel and engaging challenge for our team.”
A critical aspect of balancing Sailing’s exploration revolves around the unprecedented movement speed it offers. Gielinor’s landscape has always operated on a grid, where a player moves one tile per ‘tick’ walking, or two while running. With the introduction of ships, players will now experience a thrilling acceleration, capable of traversing four tiles per tick—a fundamental shift in how movement feels across the game world.
Charles, visibly excited, exclaims, “The increased movement speed is incredibly satisfying! It seems simple, but we’ve never had this level of swift locomotion before. Gliding across the ocean at four tiles per tick, while players on shore witness your journey, creates an amazing sense of scale and immersion. It’s truly remarkable that a new skill can so profoundly redefine interaction with the world. This fundamental change in movement is also why we believe Sailing couldn’t have been achieved until now, with the right team and resources in place to tackle such a monumental technical feat.”
While Sailing has been a long-standing concept, its current form has been actively developed since late 2022. Among all the complexities Jagex encountered, Charles reveals that neither the sheer scale nor the content density posed the greatest challenge. Instead, the most time-consuming hurdle was simply making ships function correctly within the game world.
Charles explains, “We developed ‘World entities’ to bring ships to life. Essentially, you have a moving object—the boat—and you can freely move around on top of it. This ‘moving on a moving thing’ concept, especially with intuitive controls, was entirely new for us. Unlike player characters, boats don’t instantly stop or spin. We grappled with questions of deceleration, acceleration, sail changes, and whether a boat should maintain momentum after a command, unlike a player who stops on a clicked tile. We ultimately decided that boats would continue moving in an arc after a direction is chosen, maintaining indefinite movement until an obstacle is met. This distinct behavior took immense effort to refine.
A dedicated engine developer even prototyped various movement ideas in Unity to validate them before implementing anything in our game engine. Throughout this crucial process, we involved players extensively, conducting NDA-bound tests in the office until we nailed the optimal feel. Charles points out, “For the first entire year of this three-year project, we were solely focused on perfecting ship movement. It was impossible to design combat, cannons, or Barracuda Trials without first understanding how a player would fundamentally control their ship. This created a significant dependency, limiting progress on other features until the core movement mechanics were solid.”
In contrast to skills like Hunter, which often operate in isolation, Sailing—the first new Old School RuneScape skill in almost two decades—boasts deep integration with over ten existing skills. This interconnectedness promises entirely new avenues for progression. Customizing and maintaining your ship will involve Construction, Crafting, and Smithing. Additionally, players can discover new fish to cook or craft powerful potions using exotic corals and other marine ingredients. Pilkington emphasizes that this integration was crucial to making Sailing feel like an organic, long-standing part of the game world.
Pilkington states, “Early on, we identified a significant risk: Sailing could feel too isolated from the rest of the game. You’re literally leaving familiar land to embark on a vessel, entering uncharted territory and departing from routines established over years. Our priority was ensuring Sailing felt intrinsically ‘Old School,’ despite its brand-new technology and environment. Integration with existing game systems was fundamental to achieving this.”
“Most well-designed skills incorporate some level of integration,” he continues. “While some are basic, like Construction introducing new trees for planks, we used that as a benchmark. We meticulously assessed every skill, asking, ‘Does this fit with Sailing?’ For some, like Runecrafting, a forced connection felt unnatural. However, we discovered many skills were perfect complements. For instance, building your ship immediately brings Construction into play.”
However, integration is a delicate balance. Over-integrating Sailing could lead to it dominating the Gielinor experience, making it a mandatory skill. Charles acknowledges that maintaining player agency is vital to the MMO experience, and striking this balance is paramount to prevent widespread discontent.
From a narrative standpoint, Sailing posed a significant challenge regarding RuneScape’s extensive quest library. Quests like Dragon Slayer I, where players must repair the Lady Lumbridge to reach Crandor and defeat Elvarg, could be undermined if players could simply sail their own ships. Thankfully, Pilkington reveals that the original narrative team had already accounted for such possibilities.
He explains, “Initially, we were quite concerned, but reviewing the quests, we realized it wasn’t as problematic as anticipated. We made minimal major changes to existing content for Sailing to work; only minor narrative tweaks were needed. Dragon Slayer I was a prime example. The question ‘Why couldn’t you just sail there yourself?’ was answered by the original dialogue twenty years ago. The map, it turns out, doesn’t just show Crandor, but also a treacherous reef path impassable by ordinary boats. The dialogue explicitly states that only one or two specific ‘Crandorian’ boats, no longer made, could make the journey.
“I realized my work was essentially already done!” Pilkington quips. “It was a wonderful confirmation that Sailing naturally fits the world, and that even back in 2004-2005, the writers, while not directly envisioning Sailing, had a clear understanding of Gielinor’s broader mechanics. Ultimately, we made very few retroactive changes, which I’m delighted about.”
With the foundational mechanics established, Jagex progressed Sailing towards its public debut, starting with an alpha at this year’s RuneFest and a full beta in June to showcase the early skilling experience. While feedback has been largely positive, Sailing has also encountered its share of critics. Some question its identity as a standalone skill versus a mere world expansion facilitating other skill opportunities. Naturally, a minority of purists resist any change, while others fear significant shifts might steer Old School RuneScape too close to RuneScape 3. Charles and his team acknowledge these concerns but remain firm that every effort has been made to preserve the game’s cherished Old School spirit.
Charles passionately asserts, “This is a massive, deeply integrated addition to the game. While there’s always a risk of missteps, that’s precisely why we’ve approached it with such extreme caution. We engaged in constant community consultation, publicly showcased various aspects, and conducted extensive behind-the-scenes player testing to ensure we get it right. The overwhelming positivity around Sailing from the community now, compared to earlier in the project, is truly gratifying. I feel we’ve reached a culmination, and we’re delivering something people are genuinely excited for, an excitement I hope continues once they experience it firsthand. I honestly believe this is the best skill we’ve ever created. Its impact on the world, its fresh additions, and the sheer enjoyment of the skill itself are undeniable. Honestly, nobody can convince me that a lap of Ardougne rooftops is more fun than what Sailing offers!”
Without a doubt, Sailing has been a monumental labor of love for Jagex. It demanded significant technical innovation and meticulous design to forge an entirely new experience that feels unmistakably Old School, injecting fresh gameplay without overshadowing the existing skill system. As Charles highlighted, the OSRS community has been an integral part of every stage, offering invaluable feedback and essential “vibe checks.” This skill is the culmination of years of ideas and iterations, a twenty-year-old meme finally brought to life. Regardless of its initial reception, Jagex’s unwavering dedication to the Old School spirit is clear. Personally, I can’t wait to hoist my sails, weigh anchor, and chase new fortunes on the high seas when Sailing launches on November 19. Just don’t hold your breath for Sea Shanty 3 – sorry, folks!
What are your thoughts on the upcoming OSRS Sailing update? Join the conversation and share your feelings about this incredibly expansive new skill.