Lord Justice Popplewell has ruled on appeal that RuneScape's in‑game gold pieces amount to legal property under the Theft Act 1968, a finding that significantly strengthens the prosecution's position in the case over an alleged removal of 705 billion coins from Jagex's game economy.

The judgment concluded that virtual currency in the form of RuneScape gold can represent an intangible proprietary interest capable of belonging to another person. That conclusion means conduct involving the unauthorised appropriation of such assets can, in principle, fall within the statutory definition of theft.

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The decision directly affects the defendant in the long‑running criminal proceedings, an ex‑Jagex developer accused of extracting 705 billion RuneScape gold pieces. The ruling on the legal status of the coins bolsters the argument that the Crown may lawfully prosecute such conduct under existing theft legislation.

Legal submissions for the defence had argued that virtual items lack the characteristics of property contemplated by the Theft Act because they have no tangible form and exist only as entries within a game's system. The judge rejected that position on appeal, finding that the rights and expectations created by in‑game systems and by the game's operator can be sufficient to create property interests.

The judgment is likely to have wider consequences for prosecutions and civil actions involving virtual goods across online games and digital economies. It provides a legal precedent in UK law recognising that certain digital assets, when they give rise to enforceable proprietary rights, can attract the protections afforded to property.

The ruling will be watched closely by game operators, players engaged in real‑world trading of virtual assets, and legal practitioners considering disputes over virtual goods, whether in mass‑market MMOs or newer blockchain‑based markets.