Head banner

Current Head Banners

Head banners are the banners at the top of the RuneScape website. The first one, Island Assault, was released on 1 July 2008 when the RuneScape website received a huge makeover and the game itself was upgraded to RuneScape High Detail, before that just a logo was shown which would also change sometimes during holidays or major updates (these are also archived in the "Pre-2008" article below). Banners link to their corresponding news posts.

After the release of "Island Assault", the banner has been frequently featuring holiday events or major events in RuneScape. Since 2011, special offers and new quests were included, and from 2012 on, nearly every game update gets its own banner, many of which are additionally previewed and featured in the Lobby.

Children of Mah

 * Occasion: Learn the truth about Zamorak's betrayal and solve the Mahjarrat power draining mystery in the new Children of Mah quest
 * Scene: Concept art of Zamorak confronting Zaros in his throne room
 * Duration: 21 November -

Bounty Hunter

 * Occasion: Take on players in the Wilderness in the returned Bounty Hunter worlds, with new rewards.
 * Scene: Several adventurers fighting within the Wilderness
 * Duration: 15 November -

Christmas Jumpers

 * Occasion: Pre-order the new Christmas Jumpers from the official RuneScape Merch Store
 * Scene: Two Jmods wearing the christmas jumper
 * Duration: 2 November - 15 November

Walk like a Zombie

 * Occasion: Complete various tasks to unlock various rewards, including a zombie walk override and 3 tiers of the Zombie outfit
 * Scene: Concept art of the Zombie outfit
 * Duration: 27 October - 2 November

Invention of Disaster

 * Occasion: Help Iron Doc and Dr Fenkenbrain construct a new guardian for their world
 * Scene: Concept art of Iron Doc with the God construct
 * Duration: 24 October - 7 November

Trials of Radimus

 * Occasion: Face off against 15 different opponents in Chronicle: RuneScape Legends' first campaign mode update
 * Scene: The Chronicle book showing Linza, TokHaar-Ket, Ariane, Ozan and others on the campaign map
 * Duration: 20 October - 2 November

Arc Chapter 2

 * Occasion: Explore Tuai Leit, Goshima, Cyclosis and The Islands That Once Were Turtles in the newest expansion to the Arc region
 * Scene: Concept art of a Cyclops and a crablet
 * Duration: 10 October - 15 November

Customer Support Week

 * Occasion: Improve your account security throughout CS Week and get several rewards.
 * Scene: Concept art of Count Check defending against an unseen enemy
 * Duration: 3 October - 10 October

Double XP Weekend

 * Occasion: Double XP Weekend is active through 23 September to 26 September.
 * Scene: Concept art showing Gielinor in the background.
 * Duration: 23 September - 26 September

Dagannoth Kings Rework

 * Occasion: Fight against the graphically reworked Dagannoth Kings in their updated lair.
 * Scene: An adventurer about to fight with the three Dagannoth kings
 * Duration: 19 September - 24 October

RuneFest 2016

 * Occasion: Watch the 2016 RuneFest Livestream now
 * Scene: An Arc themed background with an image from RuneFest 2015
 * Duration: 17 September

250 Million Gold Raffle

 * Occasion: Log in daily for a chance at winning 250 million coins, in celebration of 250 million accounts created.
 * Scene: Coins falling on a purple background
 * Duration: 12 September - 23 September

RuneScape: Idle Adventures

 * Occasion: RuneScape: Idle Adventures has been released into Early Access for all players
 * Scene: Concept art of Saradomin as he appears in the game
 * Duration: 1 September - 3 October

Skilling Pets

 * Occasion: Train your skills to unlock 19 new skilling pets.
 * Scene: Concept art of various skilling pets
 * Duration: 22 August - 23 September

Summer Beach Party

 * Occasion: Travel to the Lumbridge Crater to take part in the Summer Beach Party, with new events like Terrorbird racing and Hook-a-Duck, along with all previous activities from 2015.
 * Scene: Concept art of Reyna, Clawdia and the Lumbridge Crater beach.
 * Duration: 15 August - 12 September

Wilderness Task Set

 * Occasion: Travel into the Wilderness to complete the brand new task set
 * Scene: Concept art of the Wilderness in the background with an NPC in the front.
 * Duration: 8 August - 15 August

Clearance Sale

 * Occasion: 33% off select merch store items for a limited time before they're gone for good.
 * Scene: Two Jagex Moderators wearing the I am Deadman and Attack level up shirts
 * Duration: 8 August - 15 August

The Arc

 * Occasion: Travel to the first part of the Arc to explore Uncharted Isles and complete several new miniquest
 * Scene: Concept art of the Arc region
 * Duration: 25 July - 1 September

Summer Special 2016: Last Chance

 * Occasion: It's the last chance to get the Summer Special before it's gone on the 31st of July
 * Scene: Several concept art of content planned for RuneScape in the Summer
 * Duration: 19 July - 1 August

Chronicle: RuneScape Legends - Morvran

 * Occasion: The newest addition to Chronicle, Morvran, has been released.
 * Scene: Concept art of Morvran and some of the monsters encountered he uses in his deck.
 * Duration: 13 July - 25 July

Port Sarim Invasion

 * Occasion: Defend Port Sarim from Jed and the invading Skulls members.
 * Scene: Concept art of Jed with several Skulls pirate members.
 * Duration: 13 July - 25 July

RuneFest 2016

 * Occasion: Tickets for RuneFest 2016 are now available.
 * Scene: Concept art from the Eastern Lands content
 * Duration: 8 July - 25 July

Telos

 * Occasion: Face off against Telos, RuneScape's toughest boss, for new rewards including tier 92 weapons and a boss pet.
 * Scene: Concept art of Telos
 * Duration: 27 June - 8 July

Gower Quest

 * Occasion: Solve the mystery on why the worlds cabbages are dying.
 * Scene: Concept art of Andrew and Paul Gower as cabbagemancers
 * Duration: 20 June - 13 July

Summer Special 2016

 * Occasion: Buy 3 months of membership for the price of 2 and get a new Illumination aura.
 * Scene: Several concept art of content planned for RuneScape in the Summer
 * Duration: 28 May - 8 July

Summer Summit Livestream

 * Occasion: Watch the Summer Summit livestream now
 * Scene: An image from a previous video with a background of Gielinor.
 * Duration: 28 May

Chronicle: RuneScape Legends Full Release

 * Occasion: Chronicle has launched on Steam and moved out of Open Beta.
 * Scene: Ariane, Ozan and The Raptor holding several Chronicle cards
 * Duration: 26 May - 8 July

Kindred Spirits

 * Occasion: Uncover the mystery as to why several people have gone missing, and discover more about the Barrows Brothers in this new quest.
 * Scene: Several skulls with the helmets from some of the Barrows Brothers
 * Duration: 16 May - 23 May

Pack Yak Plushie

 * Occasion: Pre-Order your very own Pack Yak plushie from the RuneScape Merch Store now, before they become available on 4th June
 * Scene: An image of the Pack Yak plushie
 * Duration: 16 May - 23 May

Invention Tech Trees

 * Occasion: Tech Trees have received an update in Invention, with new items like the Kinetic Cyclone and Electrified Trap.
 * Scene: Concept art of a workshop with various machines and blueprints
 * Duration: 16 May - 23 May

Chronicle Steam Launch

 * Occasion: Chronicle: RuneScape Legends' Steam release is on May 26th. Log in between 12 May and 15 May to get three free card packs.
 * Scene: Ariane and The Raptor game pieces next to three Chronicle cards
 * Duration: 12 May - 16 May

Mega May

 * Occasion: Help Meg solve several cases throughout the month of May for various rewards.
 * Scene: Meg inspecting a sock with a magnefying glass
 * Duration: 3 May - 26 May

River of Blood

 * Occasion: Stop Vanescula from invading the Misthalin region of Gielinor in the finale to the Myreque quest series
 * Scene: Vanescula with an army of Vampyres behind her fighting various Myreque members
 * Duration: 25 April - 16 May

NXT

 * Occasion: The NXT game client is now out, take part in Benedict's World Tour to see various locations in the new client
 * Scene: Several locations shown using the NXT client
 * Duration: 18 April - 8 June

God Wars Dungeon 2

 * Occasion: Delve into the second God Wars dungeon to take on four new bosses.
 * Scene: Concept art of Gregorovic, Vindicta and Gorvek, the Twin Furies and Helwyr
 * Duration: 29 March - 13 April, 18 April - 3 May

Chronicle: RuneScape Legends Open Beta

 * Occasion: Chronicle: RuneScape Legends Open Beta has officially launched.
 * Scene: Linza, Raptor, Vanescula and Ariane battling several of the games cards, on the Lumbridge, Wizards' Tower, and Sword of Edicts maps.
 * Duration: 23 March - 29 March

Tales of the God Wars

 * Occasion: Help the Curator near the entrance to God Wars Dungeon 2 complete the chapters on his strange book.
 * Scene: Concept art of the Curator
 * Duration: 7 March - 23 March

Double XP Weekend

 * Occasion: Double XP Weekend is active through 26 February to 29 February
 * Scene: Concept art showing Gielinor in the background.
 * Duration: 27 February - 29 February

GameBlast 2016 Now Live

 * Occasion: Take part in the Double XP weekend while watching the GameBlast 2016 livestream.
 * Scene: Concept art showing Gielinor in the background.
 * Duration: 26 February - 27 February

RuneMetrics

 * Occasion: Use the new RuneMetrics tools to maximize your efficiency while playing.
 * Scene: A goblin standing infront of a board with calculations on it.
 * Duration: 22 February - 22 March

Nomad's Elegy

 * Occasion: Travel to the Underworld to stop Nomad's latest nefarious plan.
 * Scene: Concept art of Nomad surrounded by the souls of the deceased
 * Duration: 15 February - 7 March

Invention

 * Occasion: Invent new ideas with the first Elite Skill, Invention.
 * Scene: Concept art of a workshop with various machines and blueprints
 * Duration: 25 January - 26 February

15 Day Sale

 * Occasion: The 15 Day Merch store Sale is live, with a new item on sale every day until the 30th January
 * Scene: Two Jagex Moderators wearing a RuneScape related shirt
 * Duration: 18 January - 1 February

Hati, Sköll & Fenrir

 * Occasion: Hati and Sköll return, with new addition Fenrir added. Kill all three to complete the Wolf outfit and gain experience in several skills.
 * Scene: Hati and Sköll in a snowy forest area
 * Duration: 18 January - 10 February

Winter Weekend - Invention Preparation

 * Occasion: Take part in the final Winter Weekend of 2015 with boosts to prepare for the first elite skill, Invention.
 * Scene: A snowy background with the Wizards' Tower and Clan Citadel visible
 * Duration: 8 January - 11 January

15 Year Anniversary Celebration

 * Occasion: Join Party Pete ingame to celebrate 15 years of RuneScape
 * Scene: A collection of concept art from past RuneScape updates
 * Duration: 4 January - 25 January

Winter Weekend - Mazcab and Raids

 * Occasion: Take part in the fifth Winter Weekend of 2015 with boosts on Mazcab and Raids, including double reputation in the Nemi Forest
 * Scene: A snowy background with the Wizards' Tower and Clan Citadel visible
 * Duration: 1 January - 4 January

Splash page
On the previous splash page (the page you got on when visiting the RuneScape website for the first time) there were also a few banners promoting the game which can be seen below. Now it just shows some screenshots.

NOTE: On the website all these banners had small animations.

Trivia

 * As of 27 April 2012 no head banners were shown, instead it just showed the background which looks the same as the default banner but without any animations. This was most likely just a bug and has been fixed with the Runespan update.