RuneScape Classic to shutdown after 17 years

Pow, right in the childhood

Sad reacts only guys, RuneScape Classic is being shut down after a near a two-decade-long run. Runescape debuted in 2001, and - despite being updated with a new engine to Runescape 2 in 2004, and then Runescape 3 in 2013 - the old servers remained online. Despite its age, it still has around 1,000 players online across more than five servers, with an entire streaming community on Twitch devoted to the game. News of the shut down was announced via a statement posted on both the Old School RuneScape page and the RuneScape page "With advancements in technology helping to further support both RuneScape and Old School RuneScape, our tools are no longer compatible with Classic. This is particularly a problem with our community safety and macro detection tools," the shutdown announcement reads. "The game is now easily abused with the use of 3rd party macro tools, and botting has become an increasing issue."