Runescape developer Jagex is looking to get into third-party games publishing, and has hired former EA and NCSoft executive John Burns to lead the initiative.
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In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz CEO Phil Mansell reveals Jagex is looking to become “a go-to, third-party live games publisher” because they don’t believe there is one that works exclusively towards promoting ‘live games’ such as Runescape. “We are [looking to be] a specialist, best-in-class, live games publisher, PC-first but not PC-only,” Mansell says. “We think there will be a big opportunity there.”
They aren’t sure yet how many games they will be able to take on, although Mansell does admit that it will probably be “in single digits”. Regarding the games they want to approach for publishing, he says they would need to be “very live and community-driven, they don’t have to be free-to-play, but there certainly needs to be a long-term business [plan].”
He concludes, “I want us to become amongst the best in the world at this. If we are going to make this third age of Jagex a success, and go beyond the legacy of what we’ve had in the past, we have to build, not just competencies, but absolute market excellence.”