With the announcement of Project Zanaris, there’s been a buzz of excitement and concern in the RuneScape Private Server (RSPS) community. Server owners and developers are closely watching what this new initiative means for the future of custom servers and the OSRS ecosystem. A recent post by a highly skilled developer, Kris, sheds light on the situation and clears up a lot of misconceptions surrounding the project. Should RSPS owners be worried? Let’s explore Kris’s insights and what this all means for the future of private servers.

Project Zanaris: What’s Really Happening?  

Project Zanaris has generated a lot of hype, but according to Kris, the initial iteration of community servers will be much simpler than many players expect. The first version, set to launch in 2025, will only allow players to rent servers with pre-defined settings and configurations. You’ll be able to adjust certain aspects of the game—like XP rates and boss availability—through a configuration file, but beyond that, there won’t be any advanced customization or content creation in the early stages.

This means that the more ambitious ideas of building custom maps, adding new items, or modifying the game’s code are far from reality. Jagex has confirmed that while they’re exploring ways to eventually support content creation, there are no concrete plans or promises, making the future of more advanced tools and freedom highly uncertain.

Should RSPS Owners Be Worried?  
Kris’s breakdown outlines five potential levels of Project Zanaris, ranging from basic server settings to full access to the RuneScape engine code. For now, only the first level—configurations through dials and knobs—has been confirmed, and that won’t impact RSPS owners at all. Here's why:

Current RSPS Safe at Stage 1:  
The initial version will only let players tweak existing aspects of the game, like XP rates and disabling bosses, which won’t come close to the level of freedom and creativity that RSPS servers offer today. At this stage, private servers are entirely safe, and there’s no need to worry about players jumping ship to these community-hosted servers.

Minimal Threat to RSPS at Future Stages:  
Even if Jagex eventually moves towards allowing limited custom content (level 2), it will still fall short of what RSPS communities offer. Advanced custom content and unique gameplay experiences, which are the bread and butter of private servers, won’t be possible for a long time, if ever.

 Long-Term Outlook:  
For now, RSPS owners don’t need to worry. Jagex’s plan to let players host community servers won’t impact private servers unless Project Zanaris reaches higher stages of development, which Kris estimates to have slim-to-none odds of happening. The complexity of giving access to RuneScape’s decades-old codebase and data files means the higher-ups at Jagex are unlikely to approve such a move.

Turning Off Servers? Not Anytime Soon  
One question on the minds of many RSPS owners is whether they should consider turning off their servers in anticipation of Project Zanaris. Based on Kris’s insights and the current direction of the project, the answer is a resounding no.

The first version of community servers does not pose any real threat to RSPS. There’s no need to make drastic decisions like shutting down servers or pausing development efforts. In fact, now is the perfect time to continue refining and expanding your RSPS to retain your player base and provide the kinds of experiences that Jagex’s community servers won’t be able to match for a long time.

Conclusion:  
While Project Zanaris has sparked a lot of conversation, the reality is far less intimidating for RSPS owners than many initially thought. Kris’s detailed analysis shows that the initial version will offer nothing beyond simple configuration changes, and the likelihood of advanced customization tools becoming available is slim.

For now, RSPS owners can breathe easy and continue to focus on delivering unique, custom experiences to their players. The RuneScape Private Server scene remains a vital part of the community, and with Project Zanaris not threatening that for the foreseeable future, there’s no reason to consider turning off your server anytime soon.