Rune 2 is restarting development, new gameplay road map revealed

Rune 2 may have been an unexpected sequel to a game that many had forgotten about over the years, but it wasn’t an unwelcome guest in console library. A Viking-themed action-adventure, developer Human Head’s latest effort launched in November as an Epic Games Store exclusive. Nothing really noteworthy there, right? WEEEEEEEEEEEEEELL…

A brouhaha broke out shortly after release, as Human Head closed up shop a day after launch and rebranded themselves as Bethesda’s newest studio, Roundhouse Studios. Publisher Ragnarok Game were as surprised as you were to find out that Rune 2 would have zero post launch support, as Human Head apparently pulled the rug out from under them. What followed was a bit of an ugly battle that you can read more about here, with Ragnarok claiming that “Roundhouse Studios, “not only continued to change the code, but even uploaded and attempted to launch an altered, unapproved Rune 2 build to the Epic Games Store Staging.”

So what does that mean for the people who slapped some cash down for Rune 2? Originally, darkness. But as of now? Rune 2 is now restarting development and has a road map in place for some necessary fixes. “After persevering to receive the game source code from the former development team, Ragnarok Game LLC has been hard at work to deliver the RUNE II experience its fans deserve,” Ragnarok said in a press release.

After careful consideration, an internal team focused on RUNE II development was onboarded rather than contracting an outside game development studio. Today the Ragnarok Game dev team revealed the RUNE II Roadmap on the official forums. This is a living roadmap of features to be implemented in the next few months and will be guided directly by player feedback.

Here’s a look at what’s coming to Rune 2 over the next couple of months:

Revised Combat Mechanics

• Redesign combat flow and systems, timed blocking, weapon spamming penalties
• Initial implementation and balance

Ages of Ragnarok

• Vast visual polish and further distinction
• Age design tuning and balance
• World map changes where appropriate

Core Loop Improvement

• Investigate and plan for core loop improvement
• Artifact collection, alternative flow, world events

More Quality of Life Update

• More Loot / Inventory
• Character UI Polish and improvement

Rune 2 is an alright game, but with some tender love and care it could be a great one. It’s nice to see that after a murky period, it’ll be getting that attention that it currently craves.

Last Updated: February 7, 2020