Jagex now a U.S. company

All this means is they'll take less risk and take a more mainstream approach. They're not completely beholden to investors, but making sure they're happy is a definite focus. This deal was already set in motion a year ago, they're just now getting the finances done. Loyalty rewards, the teaming up with Target, Gamestop etc... For "exclusive" items is probably as a result of taking a more mainstream approach.

They very well could just make the whole game f2p to salvage whatever is left of it, I wouldn't be surprised if the wheels were already in motion for that ride, not in the immediate future, but... Yeah. Not to say a private company can't do the same, but investors really don't care about the history and preserving what is Runescape; well, obviously to a certain extent, in that a major change could mean less money, but in general I'm saying.