Employee claims RuneScape is appeasing Trump by halting Pride events: "The material... has become contentious, unlike before"

Gamers are furious after an unidentified Jagex employee spilled the beans to Pink News, alleging that the developer behind RuneScape and Old School RuneScape (OSRS) intentionally watered down its Pride Month celebrations due to backlash from American conservatism.

It appears that the decision to tone down the Pride content came from newly-appointed CEO Jon Bellamy in April. The fresh face at Jagex made waves among staff and management when he announced the company would largely skip Pride in favor of catering to what players "wanted."

Employees were baffled and dismayed, noting that a significant portion of the work for Pride content was either completed or just needed a light touch to implement. Some even volunteered to work outside of their regular hours to get the job done.

During a staff Q&A session held shortly after, Bellamy apologized for his initial communication but refused to budge, stating that the world is becoming increasingly bizarre, troublesome, and immoral. He believes that games and studios are being canceled due to content perceived as "woke" or representative, and that the pendulum is swinging back in an unexpected direction.

Yet, strangely, Bellamy acknowledged that the role RuneScape and OSRS play as safe spaces for the queer community has never been more important in the face of a backlash. He justified the dialing back of Pride events as a means of preserving this role.

Bellamy argued that it was his duty to protect the business from harm, while Pride content had become controversial in a way that it didn't used to be, bringing more risk that he was responsible for mitigating. That meant no Pride events in OSRS, while RuneScape was merely planning to re-run an old "Tales of Pride" event with no extra content. Community-organized Pride events were still allowed.

Confidentially speaking to Pink News, an employee accused Jagex of bending to the will of US conservatism—a striking claim, given that Jagex itself is a UK studio. However, the studio's owner, CVC Capital, manages extensive investments in the US, and both RuneScape and OSRS have substantial playerbases in America.

The retreat from Pride events was seen as an attempt to appease the Trump administration's ongoing crusade against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives across American society, following in the footsteps of numerous other corporations in recent months.

Jagex staff penned an open letter to management in May, reiterating their commitment to introduce new Pride content and pointing out that previous events "did not result in a drop in revenue," despite "a minority of vocal players engaging in bigoted behavior online."

The response from Jagex executives allowed employees to include some Pride content, but warned them, "Our duty is not to use the game as a platform for our own views, but to create worlds that serve our players, offering immersion, escape, and meaning."

Unsurprisingly, players haven't received the decision to forgo Pride events warmly. "Thank you Jagex for validating the effectiveness of harassment and threats of violence," reads a popular post on the OSRS subreddit, sarcastically asking fellow gamers, "How will you harness harassment and death threats to enhance OSRS now that this is a Jagex-approved method of feedback?"

In essence, the overall sentiment is, "The only problem is the anti-woke movement." "We're merely trying to support the people in our community who frequently face hatred from others," states one player. "Some folks are just awful, and more are awful for standing by while this happens."

Some players even argue that Pride events have become so mundane that skipping them may actually create more uproar than if they were kept going: "It's somewhat amusing—the pride events had become so not noteworthy that not doing them might unintentionally cause more controversy and negative press for the game than if we simply continued them."

After reaching out to Jagex for comment, a spokesperson said, "Jagex is an advocate and ally of the LGBTQ+ community. We strongly believe that our games should be a safe space for all players and aim to celebrate people of all identities. In April, we took the difficult decision to postpone work on new in-game Pride content for 2025 and informed our teams accordingly. Our development focus is on creating worlds that our players desire, offering immersion, escape, and meaning."

"We are still proud to support our community-led Pride marches, and we are working with our internal DEI committee to explore more encompassing ways to celebrate Pride across Jagex, including potential partnerships and charitable support. Our goal is to listen, learn, and find better ways to support all players and employees."

The decision to tone down Pride Month celebrations in RuneScape and Old School RuneScape (OSRS) has sparked fury among gamers, with an unidentified Jagex employee claiming that American conservatism played a role.
The allegation by the Jagex employee was made to Pink News, accusing the developer of bending to the will of US conservatism, a claim that seems striking given Jagex is a UK studio.
Employees felt baffled and dismayed at the decision, with a significant portion of the work for Pride content already completed or just needing a light touch to implement.
Conversations about the Pride content were held during a staff Q&A session, with the CEO, Jon Bellamy, acknowledging the importance of RuneScape and OSRS as safe spaces for the queer community.
However, Bellamy justified the dialing back of Pride events as a means of preserving the safe space role, noting that Pride content had become controversial, bringing more risk he was responsible for mitigating.
In response to the employee's accusations and employee outrage, Jagex management allowed the inclusion of some Pride content, but emphasized that their duty was to create worlds that serve players, not to use the game as a platform for their own views.
Social media, particularly the OSRS subreddit, has been abuzz with players expressing their displeasure at the decision to forgo Pride events, citing concerns about validating hate speech and harassment.
Meanwhile, some players argue that the lack of Pride events may unintentionally create more controversy and negative press than if they were kept going, making the controversy somewhat ironic.