Old School Runescape's first new mode in years is a hardcore co-op odyssey

Introduced in 2014, Ironman mode let Old School Runescape players test their luck with an entirely self-sufficient challenge. Now, the throwback MMO will let you share that load with a full party, letting you and your friends taking on the world together without any help from outsiders. 

Announced today, Group Ironman is the first major game mode to hit Old School Runescape in half a decade. A twist on the existing Ironman/Ironwoman modes, Group keeps many of the same restrictions (no trading, no drops from other player's kills, no XP when assisted by other players, no grand exchange) aimed at making your character entirely self-sufficient, but extends those restrictions  to a group of players rather than just one.

Within the group, you can share equipment and items freely, with shared storage. But outside those social walls, the normal Ironman rules apply, and you can't get help from other players. It sounds like a more sociable, less daunting way to try one of the game's harder challenges, and it's something Old School Runescape players were asking for.

In a press release, Jagex stated that Group Ironman was one of the most voted-for new additions in OSRS history. Being a deliberately nostalgic client, updates in OSRS are voted for by the community, and are only added if they cross a 75% approval threshold. Jagex estimates around 140,000 players voted for Group Ironman, with an 80% approval rate making it an easy in.

Group Ironman can be enabled mid-way through tutorial island, with you and your planned adventuring buds meeting at the Iron Tutor on The Node.

Natalie Clayton
Features Producer

20 years ago, Nat played Jet Set Radio Future for the first time, and she's not stopped thinking about games since. Joining PC Gamer in 2020, she comes from three years of freelance reporting at Rock Paper Shotgun, Waypoint, VG247 and more. Embedded in the European indie scene and a part-time game developer herself, Nat is always looking for a new curiosity to scream about—whether it's the next best indie darling, or simply someone modding a Scotmid into Black Mesa. She also unofficially appears in Apex Legends under the pseudonym Horizon.