Developer & publisher
Who publishes Melvor Idle 2?
Games by Malcs develops Melvor Idle 2. Jagex publishes it. Both the Steam publisher field and the 29 October 2026 news post say so. The subtitle is A RuneScape Adventure.
What changed on 29 October 2026
Before that post, summaries and older articles still said Games by Malcs was self-publishing. The news post that day names Jagex as publisher and says Jagex will handle localisation support, marketing and platform support, while the Malcs team keeps building the game.
Steam’s appdetails for 3218350, fetched the same day, lists developers as Games by Malcs and publishers as Jagex. That is two official surfaces, not a rumour repeated by a wiki.
The RuneScape subtitle
The same announcement is where the full title Melvor Idle 2: A RuneScape Adventure is used. The post says the studio has a licence with Jagex to use the RuneScape brand. I am not expanding that into a plot summary. The lore animation on the official YouTube channel is the public story piece, and it is embedded on the gameplay page.
RuneScape names, items and quest text beyond what those posts and the Steam screenshots show are not filled in here. If a guide invents a quest reward, it is not from this page.
Engine, for anyone asking “who built the client”
The April 2025 FAQ says the engine is Godot and the language is C#. That is one official source. It explains the missing web build: they say Godot/C# cannot export the web target they want yet. It is not a second publisher.
| Role | Name | Where stated |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | Games by Malcs | Steam appdetails |
| Publisher | Jagex | Steam appdetails and 29 Oct news |
| Jagex’s stated job | Localisation, marketing, platforms | 29 Oct news only |
| Brand licence | RuneScape, via Jagex | 29 Oct news only |
| Engine | Godot / C# | 24 Apr 2025 FAQ only |
Editorial notes
These notes describe the public sources checked on 29 October 2026, not a private gameplay test. Missing values and source disagreements remain explicit.
Questions
Is Melvor Idle 2 a Jagex game or a Malcs game?
Both, in the narrow sense the posts use: Malcs develops, Jagex publishes, as of 29 October 2026.
Did Jagex buy the studio?
The announcement describes a publishing deal and a brand licence. It does not say the studio was acquired. I am not upgrading a publishing credit into an acquisition.
Why do other sites still say self-published?
They are quoting the pre-29 October state. Steam’s publisher field now says Jagex.
Keep reading
- News log — The 29 October post in the dated list.
- Early Access — What that publishing announcement also dated.
- Trailer & lore — The official lore animation, with the channel name.
- About this site — Who writes these pages, and who does not.
Sources, checked 29 October 2026
Source status: game facts rely on the developer's public material and its Steam listings unless an independent source is explicitly named below. Studio posts and Steam mirrors count as one source family. Several official URLs alone do not establish independent corroboration. Unknown values and conflicting statements remain identified in the text.
- Announcement, 29 Oct 2026 — Jagex, subtitle, licence, split of responsibilities
- Steam appdetails — developers and publishers arrays
- Coming Soon FAQ — Godot and C#