I find the reaction on this subreddit since Reignited was cancelled genuinely fascinating, and honestly a little ironic.
I'm seeing posts celebrating the cancellation and then immediately encouraging all the disappointed potential new players to come try RS3 anyway.
Anyone who was excited about RSR was met with:
"Just make a new account."
"Why does it matter that other people are ahead of you?"
"They would've quit after two weeks anyway."
"It's the exact same game."
I feel like some of you genuinely cannot understand that the appeal was never just the game itself. It was the experience of starting an MMO alongside thousands of other people. Populated early-game areas, everyone progressing together, a fresh economy, and just the excitement of a new launch.
Making a level 1 character in a 25-year-old MMO is not the same experience, no matter how many times you insist that it is.
And now that Reignited is cancelled, suddenly we're being told how welcoming the community is and how we should all give the existing game a chance.
I'm sure plenty of existing players genuinely mean well, but from the outside, the past two weeks haven't exactly made this community look particularly welcoming.
Also frustrating is seeing people dismiss the positive reactions outside this subreddit. Jagex itself said that the interest from new and returning players exceeded expectations. Yet some people here seem convinced they know exactly how those players would have behaved, how long they would've stayed, and why their excitement wasn't legitimate.
Reignited actually made me excited to give RS3 a proper shot. Because I wanted to experience that fresh-start MMO atmosphere.
And now I'm watching people celebrate its cancellation while simultaneously wondering why people like me aren't rushing to create accounts on the existing servers
Also ironic how the community can't make up their minds: Was Reignited attractive enough to threaten the future of veteran worlds, or was nobody going to stick around after two weeks anyway?