RuneScape’s Treasure Hunter loot box finally meets its end

RuneScape is a name that has seemingly been around through it all, and if you’ve been gaming since the 2000s, there’s little to no chance you haven’t played an iteration of the ever-present MMORPG.

As you’d expect, no matter if it’s Old School RuneScape or RuneScape 3, the fan base is pretty ravenous, so any community feedback the developers ask for is met with a pretty loud voice.

This was especially true when Jagex polled players on whether to keep or remove Treasure Hunter, which is essentially a ‘pay-to-win’ microtransaction that allowed those who had the cash to receive extra XP lamps, gear, and cosmetics.

This poll received over 120,000 votes in favor of Treasure Hunter’s demise, and today, January 19, 2026, is the day it goes away forever.

RuneScape 3’s Treasure Hunter is no more

As previously alluded to, Treasure Hunter was a loot box-like mechanic that, while players were given free keys to it, also allowed those who wanted to spend money to get additional stuff in return.

Any form of microtransactions hasn’t sat well with the RuneScape community because the game is centered around the grind, not leapfrogging everyone by throwing money to avoid putting the time in.

It was in the game since 2014, so those who wanted it ousted had been waiting some time. In November 2025, they got that chance and came out in droves.

Jagex put a 100,000-vote requirement on the aforementioned poll to remove Treasure Hunter, and it sailed past that. This decision will undoubtedly better the experience for players both old and new, as well as potentially reinvigorating RuneScape 3.

Old School RuneScape is seemingly only going from strength to strength with a new Sailing skill, and player counts reaching all-time highs, so the removal of Treasure Hunter may already change RS3’s fortunes. 

Alongside this is a huge new The Road To Restoration roadmap for 2026 and beyond. There’s a whole lot of new content getting added to the game this year, including the likes of the Havenhythe area, 110 Hunter update, 120 Construction update, and more.

Let’s hope RuneScape 3 can see an uptick because there’s a brilliant game in there that could thrive for so many years to come, if all gets implemented correctly.