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Can Pkwild Steal RuneWild's Legacy? As we blogged about previously, the infamous Johnny strikes again, running a—ahem—'copy' of the legendary server that recently shut down: RuneWild. However, despite his endless amount of cash grabs, it appears they are actually putting effort into the server. Let’s take a look at the unfolding situation. The Birth of PkWild On January 11, 2025, Johnny made an official announcement introducing PkWild to the RSPS community. He positioned it as a fresh PvP server aimed at recreating the RuneWild experience with its own twist. With the largest PK-focused RSPS shutting down, Johnny saw an opportunity to capitalize on displaced players. "Our plan with PkWild is to start slow... The server will grow from 10 players online to 20, to 30, and so on, all while having active updates!" From the outset, Johnny reassured players that PkWild was not impersonating RuneWild or its former owner, David. Instead, they claimed to be reviving the best aspects of the now-defunct server while incorporating new features. A Rocky Launch: Bugs, Exploits, and Rollbacks PkWild officially launched on January 20, 2025, and within its first 24 hours, it had already reached over 60 concurrent players. However, the launch was not without issues. Critical bugs emerged, including: Item Duplication & Exploits: Tumeken’s Shadow and Osmumten’s Fang were accidentally set to spawnable, causing a mass influx of free items. Fake Currency Scam: Players began trading fake coins with real ones due to improperly assigned values. Emergency Downtime: The economy required urgent scanning and item removals, prompting a two-hour server shutdown. Despite these major issues, Johnny opted against a full economy reset, fearing it would punish legitimate players. Instead, the team manually wiped illegitimate wealth from accounts. PkWild’s Expansion and Continuous Updates To their credit, Johnny and his team have been rolling out consistent updates to stabilize the server. Some key patches include: Fixes for FPS drops, lag spikes, and server crashes. Reworks to the item spawning system to prevent further abuse. Implementation of The Well of Goodwill for donations. New skilling areas, item price adjustments, and economy balancing. The introduction of Voting Guardian and Ancient Warrior boss events. A reworked Rune Pouch system with new divine variations. Additionally, PkWild has started aggressive marketing, securing a new ad spots and integrating a YouTube system to promote content creators. We estimate a daily player base of 40-60 players, which is incredibly hard starting out as a new PK server. Legal Concerns: Is PkWild at Risk? In response to growing concerns about potential legal action from Jagex, Johnny dismissed any serious risks: "We own and operate six servers hosted offshore, including our company operations. Due to this, our legal risk is much lower than RuneWild’s ever was." Johnny also claimed that Jagex’s recent legal notices are merely scare tactics intended to push RSPS owners towards their upcoming project, Project Zanaris. Can PkWild Truly Replace RuneWild? While PkWild has shown promise with rapid updates and a growing player base, there are still many challenges ahead: Trust Issues: Johnny’s history of running multiple servers has left players skeptical about long-term sustainability. Economy Stability: Despite fixes, the early item duplication scandal shook confidence in the server’s economy. Player Retention: With a focus on organic growth, can PkWild maintain momentum and surpass RuneWild’s peak numbers? As of now, PkWild is making waves, but whether it can truly steal RuneWild’s legacy remains uncertain. Time will tell if this server is a genuine successor or just another temporary cash grab.