Rohan Varman, a developer at OpenAI working on the Codex project, created a browser-based game titled Elderwood. The game was built using AI-generated code and was explicitly described by the creator as a clone of the classic RuneScape.
Screenshots shared by Varman on X revealed that Elderwood featured UI elements, visual styles, and locations, such as the town of Lumbridge, identical to those found in Old School RuneScape. The project was promoted as a demonstration of OpenAI's code-generation capabilities.
Following a surge in attention from the RuneScape community on Reddit on September 7, players urged the game's developer, Jagex, to take legal action. Users criticized the project for its lack of originality and poor quality compared to the original title.
Jagex issued a cease-and-desist notice to Varman regarding the copyright infringement. On September 9, Elderwood was taken offline. The game's website now displays a farewell statement from the developer confirming the cessation of operations.
Despite the shutdown, the website remains active to display the high-score leaderboards of the defunct game. Varman expressed gratitude to the players who participated in the project during its brief period of availability.
