This marks the third time in five years that Jagex has been acquired.
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Jagex, the development studio behind the ever popular RuneScape, has just been bought out by the second largest private equity firm in the world, the Carlyle Group. This marks the third time in about five years that Jagex was bought out by a different owner. Less than a year ago, they were bought out by Macarthur Fortune Holding. Prior to that in 2016, they were bought by Shanghai Hongtou Network Technology.

RuneScape is a high fantasy MMORPG that has been around for nearly two decades now. It was recently released through Steam near the end of 2020.

Specifics about the purchase were not made public. However, it is assumed that the Carlyle Group paid more than the $520 million (USD) that was spent by Macarthur Fortune Holding in the year prior.

The Carlyle Group says that the acquisition will eventually lead to more resources being put into RuneScape. This should also result in a decrease in the amount of time between content drops for the game. They also plan to launch new titles in an effort to expand Jagex's game offerings and portfolio.

Jagex CEO Phil Mansell says that the studio is proud to be partnering with the Carlyle Group.

"We will continue to create exciting experiences for our players, grow our global communities, build new games to expand and further explore the RuneScape universe, lend our expertise to publish third-party games from like-minded online game developers, and invest in the incredible tech and talent that powers this all.”
Michael Wand, managing director at Carlyle had this to say about the acquisition.

“RuneScape is one of the most enduring RPG franchises and has a fantastic and committed player base. We look forward to drawing on the full resources of Carlyle to support Phil and his team to continue to grow the existing RuneScape franchise as well as launching new, exciting ones.”[/quote]