Jon Bellamy, CEO of RuneScape developer Jagex, said the continuity and operation of the studio’s games “as apolitically as possible” is at the top of his totem pole—even if that means winding down in-game events celebrating LGBTQ players.
In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, the outlet asked Jon Bellamy for comment regarding reports that the studio had been criticized internally after scaling down Pride Month events starting this year. The mandate resulted in the discontinuation of the Pride mini-quest in Old School RuneScape, while the Tales of Pride event was present in RuneScape, but without new content that had already been completed.
Bellamy was accused by one anonymous staffer of “catering to American conservatism,” and Jagex employees sent an open letter to management. The studio responded by saying that “our job is not to use the game as an outlet for our own views, but to craft worlds that serve our players offering immersion, escape and meaning.”
Speaking to GameIndustry.Biz, Bellamy echoed this sentiment. He reaffirmed his stance that taking a step back from Pride Month-related content was to avoid “backlash,” as it was “controversial in a way it didn’t use to be.” He added that ultimately, his job is “governance and protection as much as anything else,” and that “these kinds of harsh decisions” have to be made to protect the imminent future of the game.
“If there are tough decisions to be made next year, we’ll make them. If the world has changed a bit and the environment is different, we will react accordingly,” Bellamy said.
Pride content is ‘controversial,’ says Bellamy (but doesn’t say why)
The outlet mentioned how one of the community’s arguments against making the decision due to the global political situation is precisely why events like this are more important than ever. Earlier this year, Jagex developers reportedly volunteered to finish the 2025 Pride Month content in their own time, saying that it was already complete or straightforward to implement, while others proposed an in-game Pride parade which, supposedly, would not have entailed development time.
“The most important thing is the continuity and maintenance of our games, as well as the preservation of our players and serving our players great RuneScape experiences as we have for years,” Bellamy replied. “That’s the top priority, and that will always be the top priority.”
The CEO added that he totally sympathizes with what’s being said, while adding that his priority is to not compromise the escapism opportunity offered by Jagex’s games, as it can be a “very real risk” to the business.
“At the top of my totem pole will always be the continuity and operation of our games as apolitically as possible, because ultimately our games offer escapism to many hundreds of thousands of players every day,” he said.
Bellamy, an advisor for CVC Capital Partners, the private equity firm that purchased Jagex alongside Haveli Investments in 2024, succeeded former CEO Phil Mansell back in March of this year. Three months later, Jagex announced changes to the studio’s operational structure, which resulted in layoffs of an undisclosed number of employees.
