rss-bridge 2026-02-17T16:42:42+00:00

"We have not stopped supporting Pride," Runescape developers say. However, they don't plan to create new Pride quest content in 2026

Last June, Jagex - the developers of medieval MMO Runescape - found themselves at odds with players after deciding not to create any new content for Pride Month. Disputed internally at the studio before the discussion then leaked online, the decision appeared to be a retreat in the face of a world turning on minority groups.
Following up in September, Games Industry asked Jagex CEO Jon Bellamy if he stood by the call to simply re-run existing Pride-themed quests and events. "Ultimately, my job is governance and protection as much as anything else, and so sometimes those kinds of harsh decisions have to be made to protect the imminent future of the game," he told them. "If there are tough decisions to be made next year, we'll make them. If the world has changed a bit and the environment is different, we will react accordingly."
Five months on and with this year's Pride Month on the horizon, we've asked if the environment is different.
Read more

Runescape's Tales of Pride quest will be reactivated

[A Runescape player carries a Pride-themed shark and wears a flower garland]

Image credit: Jagex

News

by Julian Benson
Editorial Director

Published on Feb. 17, 2026

274 comments

Following up in September, Games Industry asked Jagex CEO Jon Bellamy if he stood by the call to simply re-run existing Pride-themed quests and events. "Ultimately, my job is governance and protection as much as anything else, and so sometimes those kinds of harsh decisions have to be made to protect the imminent future of the game," he told them. "If there are tough decisions to be made next year, we'll make them. If the world has changed a bit and the environment is different, we will react accordingly."

Five months on and with this year's Pride Month on the horizon, we've asked if the environment is different.

I must admit there's another reason why I'm asking these questions of Jagex now. When I visited the developer's Cambridge studio last month to hear about their plans for Runescape, its Old School release, and the Valheim-like spinoff, Runescape: Dragonwilds, I didn't ask about Pride or last year's controversy, focusing instead on its 25th anniversary.

When I published my article on the changes Jagex are making to Runescape, I was asked in the comments why there was no reference to the studio's decisions last June. In light of that oversight, I've gone back to ask Jagex's plans for Pride this year and if their decision was influenced by plans to hold in-person events in the US.

You can find the questions I asked and Jagex's answers below. But if you're not familiar with the context, let me give you a rundown of what happened.

[Players in all sorts of colourful outfits gathered at the Grand Exchange in Old School RuneScape.]

Last year, PinkNews reported that Jagex's then new CEO, Jon Bellamy, told staff in April they would not be running any Pride Month content in Runescape or Old School Runescape in June, instead focusing more on "what players wanted". The report quotes one staffer saying the decision showed the company was "catering to American conservatism", connecting the announcement to the fact Jagex's new owners, CVC Capital Partners, have a portfolio with many US investments.

Following Bellamy's initial message and pushback internally, the CEO held a Q&A with the team.“I understand that RuneScape… is precious because it is a safe space, it is an escape from reality, and the reality that we find ourselves in is changing," Bellamy is quoted as saying. "It is getting stranger, more troubling, less moral, I would argue. Games and studios are being cancelled because of content that is perceived to be ‘woke’ or representative. The pendulum is swinging back in a way we didn’t expect."

In response to an open letter from staff, Jagex said they would run pre-programmed Pride content. That June, Jagex reactivated the Tales of Pride event in Runescape. First added in 2022 and re-run every Pride Month since, this is a questline that sends players to different people within the world to hear stories about asexual, bisexual, gay, and trans characters who have played a part in Gielinor's world. Completing the quest earns you a set of cosmetics, such as a banner, a shift, and a flower crown.

Separately, the community organised the Community Pride Event within Runescape, something they have been doing since 2020. As in previous years, this began as an in-game parade and ended in an after party. A similar parade was held in Old School Runescape.

In previous years, Jagex have run Pride-themed quests in Old School Runescape. In 2017, there was the Gilbert's Colours event. Then new quests in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Unlike Tales of Pride, each quest was unique and provided players newly-created cosmetic items. There wasn't a new quest added in 2025, nor was an old quest reactivated.

When our colleagues over at Games Industry spoke to Bellamy in September, he told them, "I totally sympathise with what's being said. At the top of my totem pole will always be the continuity and operation of our games as apolitically as possible, because ultimately our games offer escapism to many hundreds of thousands of players every day. If that escapism opportunity is compromised, there's a very real risk to the business."

That brings us up to date. And so this is what I asked after posting my article last month.

**Last year Jagex paused development of its Pride month content. Pink News reported that Jon Bellamy said Jagex would stop supporting the event to avoid a "backlash" and that "Games and studios are being cancelled because of content that is perceived to be ‘woke’ or representative. The pendulum is swinging back in a way we didn’t expect.” He also is reported as saying that “The content.. is now controversial in a way it didn’t used to be and that controversy now brings more risk than it did previously, risk that I’m personally responsible to protect against.” **

Is that an accurate account of what he told staff?

This was part of a broader discussion about a rapidly changing global environment and Jagex’s responsibility to protect the long-term health of the game and safeguarding the studio and staff.

Will Jagex be supporting Pride in 2026?

Yes. The Tales of Pride seasonal quest will reactivate in game and we will continue to support community-led Pride activity in-game. In addition, the studio will continue to offer events and support as part of local celebrations around Pride.

Will Jagex be developing any new content for Pride in 2026?

The Tales of Pride seasonal quest will reactivate in game and we will continue to support community-led Pride activity in-game. In addition, the studio will continue to offer events and support as part of local celebrations around Pride.

What pressure was Jagex feeling that it needed to stop supporting Pride? Or, if it wasn't feeling pressure, why did it volunteer to stop supporting an event that celebrates a minority group?

We have not stopped supporting Pride and we will continue to celebrate Pride this year.

What message does it send that Jagex wasn't willing to withstand the fear of a backlash for supporting a Pride event in-game?

We have not stopped supporting Pride and we will continue to celebrate Pride this year.

In my discussion with Ryan Philpott, he said "Some of the changes we're going to make might make some of our current players less than happy, but it's for the greater good of the game long term." Is cutting Pride an example of this?

[...]

*Original source*