It’s been nearly ten years since our last name release and you could say that we’re quite overdue another one, until this week that is! For those unfamiliar with a Name Release we essentially take a bunch of character names that aren’t currently available and release them for you to claim for yourself.
These names are taken from abandoned characters which must have been inactive for at least 2 years AND either been permanently banned, has never been a member or membership was only paid in bonds, which ended at least 5 years ago.
To claim a name, you must be a RuneScape member, with a skill total of a least 500 in either OSRS or RuneScape. We’ll be releasing character names starting with the letter A and continuing to release batches with groups of letters in varied batches each weekday until all names have been released. Names starting with numbers will be released in groups across the final few batches. We’ll be releasing a newspost on the first day to announce the official beginning of this year’s name release and we’ll keep that updated each time a new batch has been released.
We’ll be releasing a newspost on the first day to announce the official beginning of this year’s name release and we’ll keep that updated each time a new batch has been released.
Our current aim is:
- : At , we’ll release the very first batch of names, starting with names beginning with A
- Throughout November: Every weekday at we’ll release one batch until all batches have been released
For this release we’ve included a queuing system within the ‘Check Names’ feature through the in-game interface for display name changes. The traffic from the previous release was a major technical problem so we’ve set up the queuing system to help mitigate that, protecting the game’s systems while also helping to hinder potential name sniping. You can also do this via our website which features the same queuing system if you’d prefer.
We’ll feature the full list of batches within a newspost that will launch alongside the first batch and look to update you on each release via that newspost and a new channel which has been added in the Official OSRS Discord. You can sign up for pings via the ‘Apply Role’ channel to be notified of the batch releases, especially if Discord is your platform of choice.
Remember: your previous name will be reserved to your character for at least 35 days, or for up to 6 months, depending on how long you had it. You’ll lose this reserved name if you change your name again, the name is removed from the game, or the reservation period ends.
If you’ve changed your name recently, you’ll have a 28 day cooldown which can be removed by redeeming a Bond. If you have any questions or require some help, visit our Support Centre. The team cannot help with getting players a particular name nor looking up whether a name would be included within a certain batch.
Something to bear in mind for any players creating characters for Hardcore Worlds, these won’t be eligible until you’ve reached the requirements listed above. If your character resets, these won’t be eligible unless the character has the required skill total, as described above.
You can also discuss this update on the 2007Scape subreddit, the Steam forums, or the official OSRS Discord. For more information, check the official Old School Wiki.
The Old School Team.
