Jagex, the Cambridge studio best known for Runescape, has been acquired by the Carlyle Group, the world's second largest private equity firm. The developer has changed management several times in the past five years, and since 2016 has been part of Shanghai Hongtou Network Technology, which was acquired by Macarthur Fortune Holding less than a year ago.

The Carlyle Group has refused to disclose how much they spent on the deal, but the Telegraph reports that it is expected to be higher than the $520 million (£390 million) Macarthur spent last year.

According to The Carlyle Group, the deal will bring more investment and resources to Runescape, which will provide content at a faster pace than it does now. The Carlyle Group also plans to use its network and resources to launch new titles to expand Jagex's portfolio.

Jagex CEO Phil Mansell said the company is "very proud" to partner with The Carlyle Group, adding: "We continue to deliver exciting experiences for our players and grow our global community, expanding the RuneScape universe, building new games to explore further, offering our expertise to publish third-party games from like-minded online game developers, and investing in the amazing technology and talent behind all of this. [Michael Wand, managing director of Carlisle, said, "RuneScape is one of the most enduring RPG franchises and has a fantastic and dedicated player base. We look forward to leveraging all of Carlisle's resources to help Phil and his team continue to grow the existing RuneScape franchise and launch new and exciting franchises."

Runescape turned 20 years old earlier this month, with the Old School version of the game reaching the highest number of simultaneous players in its history in November 2020.

Last week, Tencent acquired Don't Starve developer Klei Entertainment, and Team17 bought the assets and rights to Golf With Your Friends.