Jagex

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Jagex Ltd.
Type Private
Founded 2001 (used as a trading name since 1999, incorporated 28 April 2000[1])
Headquarters Cambridge, United Kingdom
Key people Andrew Gower, Paul Gower, Constant Tedder, Geoff Iddison, [2][3]
Industry Interactive entertainment, MMORPG, Software consultancy and supply[1]
Website http://www.jagex.com/

Jagex Ltd. (or Jagex Software) is a British producer of Java-based online computer games. The name "Jagex" stands for Java Gaming Experts.[4] The company is best-known for its browser-based MMORPG, RuneScape, and also operates FunOrb, a mini-games website.

Contents

History

Andrew Gower began trading under the Jagex name in 1999[5], describing Jagex Software as a "small software company based in England who specialise in producing top-quality Java-games for webpages"[6]. That same year, he began work on the MMORPG RuneScape alongside his brother Paul Gower. RuneScape was released on January 2001. In December of that year, Andrew Gower, Paul Gower, and Constant Tedder launched Jagex in its current incarnation, with Constant Tedder as its CEO. [4]. The company was incorporated on 28 April 2000 as Meaujo (492) Limited[1], and changed its name to Jagex Limited on 27 June 2000. It formally acquired the Jagex name from Andrew Gower in 2001.

One year after its release, RuneScape already had over one million free accounts registered. The first tasks of the company were to create a version of the game with extra features that required a £3.20 ($5USD)($7.50C$)monthly fee, while still offering the free version, and to develop partnerships with advertisers. Both tasks were achieved, and the pay-to-play version of RuneScape was released on 27 February 2002. It gained 5,000 subscriptions in the first week, making RuneScape one of the largest Java pay to play games in the world.

As RuneScape's popularity grew, so did Jagex. By December 11, 2003, RuneScape had 65,000 paying members, and Jagex had 29 employees. [7] As of May 4, 2007, RuneScape has over 6,000,000 active free accounts and over 1,000,000 active pay-to-play subscribers,[8] and Jagex currently has over 400 employees. In 2006, founders Andrew Gower and Paul Gower were calculated to be worth £32 million. Jagex received an investment from Insight Venture Partners in October of 2005.[9] The company had been self-funded before this investment.

On October 23, 2007, Geoff Iddison, former European CEO of PayPal, replaced Constant Tedder as CEO in order to "accelerate international growth".[10] Since Geoff Iddison was appointed, Jagex has appeared in the press far more frequently than it had under Tedder.

On February 27, 2008, Jagex released FunOrb, an online mini-games portal, with 18 launch games. Like RuneScape, FunOrb is written in Java and can be played from a browser.[11]

Future Development

An interview with CEO Geoff Iddison by BBC revealed that Jagex plans "to launch a couple of new titles" in 2008 but maintains that RuneScape "will be the main investment focus for Jagex for the next five years"[12]. Jagex has registered UK trademarks and various related domain names for the term "MechScape".[13][14] In an interview with GamesIndusy.biz Iddison stated that Jagex have "got a very, very big investment into another MMO" and that it is expected to be released "early next year, Q1 2009" - when asked if it was the MechScape brand, he replied "I can't say too much more, I'm afraid"[15]. As well as working on completely new projects, Jagex continues to develop its existing services. In relation to FunOrb, Jagex continue to release new games and intends to expand into the mobile phone games market[16]. In relation to RuneScape, Jagex continues to release new game content and is working on a new graphics mode and full-screen support as well as French [17] and Portuguese [18]versions of the game.

Operation

Jagex has over 400 employees, working to update RuneScape and FunOrb, and provide support for its customers. They employ a wide variety of workers, including 3D modellers, game developers, customer support, programmers, translators, quality assurance, and managers.[19] They currently have offices in Cambridge and London.

They maintain about 150 servers for RuneScape in various locations around the United States, Canada, Australia, Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, and the United Kingdom, as well as several servers for the multiplayer games on FunOrb. One of the most recent additions to the servers was the addition of the three German beta servers, which are currently the only servers for a non-English version of the game.

The company has a dedicated Community Safety Team, who deal with any issues related to child safety, real life threats, cyberbullying and abuse.[20] The team operates 24 hours a day and works with CEOP, VGT, and MCMEC. The team also helps educate the players and parents about online safety [21].

Reception

Jagex has been criticised for not listening to or informing its player base concerning the updating of RuneScape[22]. It has also been accused of marketing RuneScape toward young children, despite the 13+ age limit required to play.[23] Overall, however, Jagex is a well-received company, ranking 59th in 2007 and 87th in 2008 on the Sunday Times' 100 Best Companies to Work For list.[24]

In its intellectual property profile of RuneScape, Develop concluded that: "In addition to being one of the most profitable, Jagex is also the UK’s largest independent developer by staff level, and one of the biggest employers. Its commercial model should make it a poster boy for the disintermediation of publishers and the ‘direct to consumer’ distribution channel in which so many developers place their hopes".[25]

References

  1. ^ a b c Companies House WebCHeck. Retrieved 29 July 2007.
  2. ^ Jagex (2007). Full Credits List (English). Jagex. Retrieved on 2007-10-19.
  3. ^ Geoff Iddison's public profile (English). LinkedIn (2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-19.
  4. ^ a b What is Jagex?. RuneScape knowledge base. Jagex. Retrieved on 2007-03-12.
  5. ^ Jagex Limited v. na c/o Kristen Shilley. National Arbitration Forum (2007-1-23).
  6. ^ Jagex Software. Jagex (1999-11-29). Retrieved on 2007-06-11.
  7. ^ Rune to Move. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2008-02-10.
  8. ^ RuneScape reaches one million members!. Jagex (4 May 2007). Retrieved on 2007-05-04.
  9. ^ RuneScape Developers Jagex Ltd. Secure Investment from Insight Venture Partners. GamingBlog (28 October 2005). Retrieved on 2007-01-29.
  10. ^ Jagex appoints PayPal CEO to accelerate international growth. Jagex (23 October 2007). Retrieved on 2008-02-10.
  11. ^ FunOrb FAQ. Jagex (27 February). Retrieved on 2008-02-27.
  12. ^ Mark Ward (2007). British gaming firm takes on the world (English). BBC News. Retrieved on 2007-128.
  13. ^ Case details for Trade Mark 2403672 (English). UK Intellectual Property Office. Retrieved on 2007-10-23.
  14. ^ Mechscape World : Mechscape History & Information (English). Mechscape World (2007). Retrieved on 2007-11-28.
  15. ^ Matt Martin (2008). MMO Week: Jagex's Geoff Iddison. GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.
  16. ^ Rob Purchese (2008). FunOrb targeting "every demographic" (English). EuroGamer. Retrieved on 2008-05-19.
  17. ^ An Image of the Future. Jagex Ltd. (2008). Retrieved on 2008-08-05.
  18. ^ Translation Team Leader (Portuguese). Jagex Ltd. (2008). Retrieved on 2008-08-05.
  19. ^ Full Credits List. Jagex. Retrieved on 2008-02-10.
  20. ^ Community Safety. Jagex. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
  21. ^ Parent Guide. jagex. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
  22. ^ A Lack of Communication, a Lack of Respect. TruthScape. Retrieved on 2008-02-10.
  23. ^ RuneScape: An Education Kids Don't Need. tom's games. Retrieved on 2008-02-10.
  24. ^ The Sunday Times Best 100 Companies to Work For. Sunday Times Online. Retrieved on 2008-02-10.
  25. ^ Nick Gibson (2008). IP profile: RuneScape (English). Develop. Retrieved on 2008-05-20.

External links

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Jagex series of articles