'Runescape Classic' will shut down after nearly two decades.One year after revealing plans to port both RuneScape and Old School Runescape to mobile and tabletcomputer, developer Jagex has announced the original RuneScape's PC servers will be going offline permanently. To be clear, that is Runescape Classic -- the 2001 match -- so RS gold servers remain untouched.

For fans of the 17-year old browser-based MMORPG, this is comparable to the ending of an age; RuneScape was among the leaders in the online fantasy niche, sitting among EverQuest and Asheron's Call; it dunked players into a medieval kingdom, let them transform into an avatar of their choice, and embark on a non-linear adventure filled with questing, PvP combat, and needless to say, an enviable chatroom. However from August 6th at 3AM ET, Runescape Classic will vanish into the electronic ether. Jagex clarified that its resources simply are not compatible with Classic any longer:

"It has been amazing to see such dedication amongst those of you who've maintained playing RuneScape Classic over the last few years," Jagex's farewell post says,"But it is not all fun and games" Apparently, botting had turned into a serious issue and a growing record of game-breaking bugs were proving too difficult to eradicate.

For many gamers whose formative years coincided with the dawn of cheap OSRS gold the new millenium, RuneScape was the hangout of choice. In 2013, RuneScape reached a two million account milestone. The match obviously evolved since its first release -- with major updates in 2004 and 2013 -- players were still enthralled by retro sensibilities: a survey of 160,000 fans caused the recovery of hosts that were old, and this leaves Jagex's announcement even more bittersweet.