Rune: Ragnarok by Human Head Studios

I am full of hope, we'll see how it goes.

My first reaction: a Rune sequel made by Human Head? Great!
My second reaction: an open world RPG. What? Why?
Suddenly I'm very sceptical about this project.

Loved the first Rune. Lets hope they deliver and bring in to GOG.

Yeah, this open world trend has really fed me up. Come on, it's not possible that nowdays something cannot sell if it's not open world! (And yet the populace cry for more open world, and often they even refuse to buy if that element is not present. Bah. I mean, open world does not associate well with *everything*)
Still, I'm cautiously optimistic. I know Human Head, I know what they can do, and the first Rune was pure awesomeness. Let's hope for the best. Great "small" maps like Gothic, not giant deserts like Bethesda, please.

Rune Ragnarok goes early access on Steam next month:

Why Early Access?
“We’ve wanted to develop a new Rune game for years and are excited to have the opportunity to bring it to life. We have a master plan for the game we think best carries on the hallmarks of the original while creating a new and exciting world for players. Community feedback is an essential part of our development process that allows us to gather new insights, refine and balance the game, and hear firsthand how players experience Rune.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?
“Rune is expected to be in Early Access for up to a year.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?
“Rune will continue to add more features and content during Early Access. Our plans include the following:

[i] Expanded world with more islands to explore
Additional Gods
More armor and weapons
Ocean ecosystem including sea serpents
Ability to have pets and mounts
Mod support
Additional recipes/crafting
Additional enemy AI (both new AI and variants of existing)
Additional fauna creatures
More Quests
More world construction abilities[/i]

We will add the rest of the main quests to the game, leading up to finding Loki and defeating him in a glorious final battle. We will also continue to balance the game based upon player feedback and the addition of new features and content.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?
“All of the core features of the game are working and stable. The Early Access version of the game will not have the full ending but these quests and game play will be added throughout early access. The game will have official servers running for online PvP and PvE play.

As this is an Early Access title, the game will likely have bugs, but the team will respond to critical bugs as quickly as possible. There will also be a regular cadence of updates during early access with a road map of upcoming features on the Rune website.”

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?
“Pricing will be the same during and after Early Access.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?
“We welcome community feedback through this Steam page, our official website forums, an official Discord channel and all of our various social media channels. We want the community to help refine and shape Rune as we move through Early Access. We will share development updates on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Discord, YouTube, our forums, and our blog. We’re excited to partner with our Rune Classic fan base and all of the new fans alike to bring Rune to life.”

Isn't that the developer who began the work on Prey 2 ? and only now after all years retuns to Rune. Hmm i just hope they have enough competent developers left to make a good game but we'll see in time.

I don't mind open world, but it sounds very focused on multiplayer, and PvP? Bleh.

The new Rune has been in development for a while now. Yes, they are changing the formula but let's hope they nail it as the original Rune is one of my favorite games. They also said that the game will be completely playable and finishable in single player.

They will release on Steam but it is not sure wether they will bring it to other platforms though.

Those gameplay videos look very promising! Something to keep an eye on. I just hope that full single-player is indeed a possibility.