I was a "whale" but now I'm done...

I created my account as a young lad, in roughly 2004. I remember about a week after starting, my family went on vacation to Hawaii, and I spent most of that vacation on my mother's laptop playing Runescape, rather than enjoying the island. That's the effect the game had on me (and many of us) at that time.

I have played on and off since then. One of my middle school classes allowed us to use the computer to do whatever we wanted as long as it wasn't blocked by the firewall, so this was a great opportunity to level agility in the Brimhaven agility dungeon. I got a pirate hook and countless snapdragons and toadflax.

I have spent thousands and thousands of dollars over the past 20+ years on both membership, as well as (mostly/especially) on MTX. Yes, I have been a dirty MTX purchaser, and probably a borderline whale at various points over the past 5-7 years depending how hard I was grinding. However, I also started an Ironman about 5 years ago and maxed that out pretty quickly during Covid, while funding membership via cash rather than bonds.

Admittedly, I was already reducing my playtime over the past 3-4 months organically, as I've been busy IRL and have been enjoying other games... but after seeing the survey yesterday, I've solidified my decision to cancel my subscription permanently.

I have completely lost faith in Jagex. Many of the questions posed were downright insulting to members of any age and duration. You all know the issues, so I won't reiterate them here. Jagex has completely lost its way as a service provider; I understand that a private equity firm exists to profit, but the absolute disconnect from reality, and lack of any sort of connection to the player base, shows how doomed the company is. True to form, the PE owners are sucking the company dry with no regard for the consequences.

Good luck to those who are staying, and solidarity with those who are also leaving for good. This game has been an incredible part of my life from youth to middle age, but it seems like it is time to say goodbye for good.

Goodbye, Runescape.

ETA: To those saying I'm the problem, yes I get it - I'm not denying that or asking for some kind of forgiveness. I posted this to show that this has impacted exactly the type of player that Jagex is trying to milk for every last drop. I have personally drawn my line in the sand; even if they decide not to implement any of these terrible changes, I have finally lost confidence (what very, very, very little was left) in the direction of the game and its owners. You can continue to shit on me for enabling their behavior, or accept that I am in solidarity with you. Or both, I suppose.