Thanks to a massive community vote, Jagex are removing RuneScape’s notorious Treasure Hunter microtransactions

Oh I do love a win! Today’s is quite a surprising one, coming in the form of Jagex willingly removing some microtransactions from RuneScape after more than 120,000 people voted in favour of having them permanently removed from the game. To be frank, I am genuinely unsure if I have… well, ever seen a company do this simply because everyone hated them so much.

To provide some context, Treasure Hunter is a daily activity that was introduced into the game in 2014, and essentially you can win prizes that can grant XP boosts, gold, and gameplay-skipping items. You’d only get a certain number of these for free a day, but it was also possible to buy extra keys with real money, which sucks a tremendous amount, obviously.

It’s not just the Treasure Hunter microtransactions that are being removed, it’s the entire system and then some. Come January 19th, 2026, the day this update will be implemented, 225 direct XP and skilling related items will also be gone from the game. According to Jagex, this is the start of what it’s calling a year-long integrity roadmap, with the studio’s CEO Jon Bellamy saying in a press release that they plan to tackle “some of the game’s biggest friction points head-on.”

January 19th will also see the arrival of a new RuneScape Ahead showcase which will go into a lot more detail about these roadmap plans, as well as other bits and bobs planned for the MMO across 2026.

I won’t give outright kudos to Jagex for these changes, as we don’t pat companies on the back for deciding they don’t want to con people any more. But it is certainly a breath of fresh air at a time when just changing the skin of a virtual companion requires that you buy an entirely new companion first. A hearty congrats to those that voted for the removal of these microtransactions, though. Hooray!