Nine years after the game was first released, Old School Runescape players have finally voted to add the first ever new skill into the game. It represents a monumental moment for the MMO, which has long-resisted changes to the game of this scale. Old School Runescape will begin community consultation for the new skill in January 2023.Old School Runescape was first released in 2013, using a 2007 build of the game as an alternative to Runescape 3, which many players abandoned due to a string of unpopular development decisions. Old School Runescape has been extremely player-driven, with every update put to a majority poll prior to development. If players say no, it's scrapped. This approach has worked for Jagex, with Old School Runescape now boasting more concurrent players than its newer iteration. The prospect of a new skill has been floated for years now as the game ages, though players have always rejected the idea at the polling booth - until now.Developer Jagex first launched the poll on December 10th, running until December 16th. It was made clear that anything short of a huge majority in favor would result in the idea being scrapped. The poll quickly became the most-voted poll in Old School Runescape history, beating even the Group-Ironman Mode poll, with over 190,000 players having their voices heard. Those voices were loud and clear, with 80.6% in favor of adding a new skill.[EMBED_TWITTER]https://twitter.com/OldSchoolRS/status/1603740505783021568[/EMBED_TWITTER]What exactly a new skill will entail for Old School Runescape is yet to be decided. The poll was simple - new skill, yes or no? However, Jagex has reaffirmed a commitment to player-driven decisions, outlining a six-stage process to follow, ensuring fans are heard every step of the way. Beginning from the conceptual stage, this process goes all the way to an open-beta. Jagex is yet to give a timeline for the release of the skill, though it's expected players will be waiting some time before it approaches completion. Many ideas have been floated by the community, with Sailing, Archaeology and Ranching all currently popular choices. Archeology already exists in Runescape 3, an update which proved to be popular even with long-term players.Adding a new skill should be considered a positive for Old School Runescape. The game is now as old as the original was when it released, and content is king in MMOs, especially one as long running as Old School Runescape. There is a sentiment among Runescape players that Jagex has long-pandered to purists in the community, who have rejected change wherever possible. Many players now have maxed-out accounts, and just want more things to do. Comparatively, Runescape 3 has released three skills since Old School Runescape launched, with a fourth on the way in 2023. The polls don't lie - this will be popular with players and could extend the game's lifespan for years to come.Old School Runescape is currently available on PC, Mac, Android and IOS.Source: Jagex