Developer Jagex’s free-to-play RuneScape massively multiplayer online game is 12 years old, but its age didn’t stop it from leading the studio to its most successful year ever in 2012.
The company generated over $76 million in profit based primarily on the strength of RuneScape’s continuing popularity and new titles, Ace of Spades and Carnage Racing.
“2012 was a pivotal year for Jagex, and today’s figures are a real testament to the whole Jagex team who have continues to over perform year after year,” Jagex chief executive Mark Gerhard said in a statement.
Jagex also revealed plans to partner with South American Internet-service provider UOL to help RuneScape break into the Brazilian market. UOL will handle the exclusive publishing of that game in Brazil, the largest market in South America and one with a growing middle class.
“International expansion has always been a key focus for Jagex and has largely been going on at a community level from the ground up without overt marketing,” Jagex chief marketing officer David Solari said. “We are now in a position where we have an excellent offering, which we believe is perfect for the South American market. To ensure we capitalize on this opportunity, we are thrilled to be working with UOL as our primary partner to give the game the support it deserves.”
In addition to English, Jagex previously localized RuneScape into French and German. Now it is preparing it in Portuguese for the Brazilian audience. The developer is currently porting RuneScape to an HTML 5 engine. This will enable players to access it from many mobile browsers, which will effectively turn it into a mobile game.
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