Old School RuneScape finally adds in-game clans today

Java graphics at their best. — (Image credit: Jagex)

You'd think guilds were a given for any MMO, let alone one that's been kicking around as long as Old School Runescape. But while the community has been clustering in informal groups for years, today finally sees the throwback MMO gain a proper clan system.

Announced all the way back in 2019, the Clan update arrives today with a new Clan Hub in the game's Grand Exchange. From here, you'll be able to browse existing clans or create your own, managing recruitment and setting up ranks as you'd expect. Clans will also get their own Halls to hang out in, an instanced chamber than can be opened up to selected guests.

Of course, the Runescape community has been gathering in clans for years on forums and discord servers. It's just wild that it's taken so long for the game to finally implement what's considered a fairly standard feature for MMOs. That said, the lack of formal clans hasn't stopped the 2007 nostalgia trip for being wildly popular—just last year, the game hit an all-time record of 157,445 concurrent players, and that was before the game made its long-overdue move to Steam.

"Playing Old School RuneScape is like restoring an old car," Austin Wood said in our review. "It's not always fun, it's often hard work, and most people don't know why the hell you would even bother. But it's damn satisfying to step back and see how your efforts have paid off"

20 years ago, Nat played Jet Set Radio Future for the first time, and she's not stopped thinking about games since. Joining PC Gamer in 2020, she comes from three years of freelance reporting at Rock Paper Shotgun, Waypoint, VG247 and more. Embedded in the European indie scene and a part-time game developer herself, Nat is always looking for a new curiosity to scream about—whether it's the next best indie darling, or simply someone modding a Scotmid into Black Mesa. She also unofficially appears in Apex Legends under the pseudonym Horizon.