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.

Double XP Weekend

 * Occasion: Double XP Weekend is active from 15 September to 18 September.
 * Scene: Concept art showing Gielinor in the background.
 * Duration: 15 September - 18 September

Summer Beach Party

 * Occasion: Travel to the Lumbridge Crater to take part in the Summer Beach Party.
 * Scene: Concept art of Reyna, Clawdia and the Lumbridge Crater beach.
 * Duration: 31 July - 4 September

RuneScape Mobile

 * Occasion: RuneScape is coming to Mobile devices in 2018.
 * Scene: Art of an unknown hand holding a mobile with RuneScape on the screen
 * Duration: 17 July -

The Magister

 * Occasion: Take on the Magister and earn new tier 92 weapons and gloves of passage.
 * Scene: Concept art of The Magister
 * Duration: 3 July - 31 July

Open Weekend

 * Occasion: Try out RuneScape's members features for free between 9 June and 12 June.
 * Scene: Concept art of Ozan standing at the gates of Menaphos.
 * Duration: 9 June - 12 June

Menaphos: The Gates are Open

 * Occasion: The Gates of Menaphos are now open.
 * Scene: Concept art of various characters involved with Menaphos
 * Duration: 5 June -

RuneFest 2017

 * Occasion: Tickets for RuneFest 2017 are now available to purchase.
 * Scene: Images from several RuneFest events from previous years
 * Duration: 22 May - 31 July

Menaphos Summer Special

 * Occasion: Get 3 months membership for the price of 2 with the Menaphos Summer Special pack
 * Scene: Concept art of the Pharaoh with Menaphos in the background
 * Duration: 22 May - 15 July

Double XP Weekend

 * Occasion: Double XP Weekend is now active from 19 May until 22 May.
 * Scene: Concept art of Leela and Menaphos
 * Duration: 19 May - 22 May

Gielinorian Giving

 * Occasion: Collect charity tokens ingame by skilling to unlock the Defenders of the Mind cosmetic outfit.
 * Scene: Concept art of the Defenders of the Mind outfit
 * Duration: 8 May - 22 May

Shattered Worlds

 * Occasion: Take part in the new combat minigame Shattered Worlds for rewards such as new sigils, slayer masks and new abilities.
 * Scene: Screenshots of Shattered Worlds in broken glass
 * Duration: 2 May - 5 June

Menaphos

 * Occasion: Menaphos is coming on 5 June, check out the official site to see the requirements to gain access.
 * Scene: Concept art of Menaphos
 * Duration: 25 April - 5 June

Twitch Prime Package

 * Occasion: Start a 30 day free trial or purchase a month of Twitch Prime to receive a new Legendary pet, a month of membership, 15 Treasure Hunter keys and 200 RuneCoins.
 * Scene: Concept art of Ariane and the Prime Colossus pet
 * Duration: 11 April - 8 May

15 Years of Adventure

 * Occasion: Watch RuneScape's 15 Year anniversary documentary on YouTube
 * Scene: An image of the three Gower Brothers signing autographs at RuneFest 2015.
 * Duration: 10 April - 25 April

Gemstone Dragons

 * Occasion: Face off against 3 new Gemstone dragons based on the dragonstone, onyx and hydrix gems for pieces of the gemstone armour
 * Scene: Concept art of the Dragonstone dragon
 * Duration: 3 April - 2 May

Merch Store - Free Shipping

 * Occasion: The Merch Store is now offering free shipping on orders from £15 or more until the 16 March.
 * Scene: Two Jagex Moderators wearing shirts bought through the Merch Store, including the new Hardcore Ironman shirt
 * Duration: 9 March - 21 March

Back to the Freezer

 * Occasion: Help Chuck prevent the latest penguin plot to reduce Gielinor's temperature.
 * Scene: Concept art of penguins stranded in the desert near the T.A.R.D.I.S
 * Duration: 27 February - 5 April

Double XP Weekend

 * Occasion: Double XP Weekend is now live, running from 17 February to 20 February.
 * Scene: Concept art showing Gielinor in the background.
 * Duration: 17 February - 20 February

Win an Amazon Echo

 * Occasion: Enter the competition for a chance to win an Amazon Echo, to celebrate the release of One Piercing Note on the device.
 * Scene: Concept art of Abbey of St. Elspeth Citharede's interior
 * Duration: 6 February - 17 February

Premier Club 2017: Last Chance

 * Occasion: It's the last chance to buy the 2017 Premier Club package before it's removed on 5 February.
 * Scene: Concept art of Menaphos in the background and the Menaphite Ancient Outfit in the foreground
 * Duration: 31 January - 6 February

Nex: Angel of Death

 * Occasion: Take on Nex in her new chamber
 * Scene: Concept art of Nex: Angel of Death
 * Duration: 30 January - 27 February

Hati, Sköll & Fenrir

 * Occasion: Hati, Sköll and Fenrir return for 2017. Kill all three to complete the Wolf outfit and gain experience in several skills.
 * Scene: Hati and Sköll in a snowy forest area
 * Duration: 16 January - 30 January

Memorial to Guthix

 * Occasion: Train Divination to recover memory strands and engrams that reveal some of Guthix's memories.
 * Scene: A ghostly image of Guthix near the Memorial site
 * Duration: 10 January - 30 January

Dungeoneering Weekend

 * Occasion: Take advantage of the Dungeoneering weekend with double tokens from regular floors and sinkholes, as well as 50% more experience from Sinkhole lamps.
 * Scene: A snowy background with the Wizards' Tower and Clan Citadel visible.
 * Duration: 6 January - 9 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.