When OSRS dragon snakes become a livelihood for Venezuelans

Millions of Venezuelans are living day-to-day by earning money from virtual worlds and online games, but this escape is not voluntary. They have no choice, simply because the economic collapse once rendered the country’s currency worthless, and the dragons in RuneScape now hold more real-world value.

From Gold to Economic Collapse - Why Do Venezuelan Players Choose RuneScape?

In 2013, Venezuela’s economy began to plunge into an abyss. The country’s GDP shrank by nearly 75-80% over the next eight years, marking the worst economic crisis in 45 years globally (excluding war). Inflation soared to 48,000% per year by August 2018, causing the Bolivar to depreciate relentlessly. In just four months, the black market exchange rate dropped from 1 million : 1 to 7 million : 1 against USD. Paper money was no longer money; it was just trash.

At that moment, Venezuelans discovered Old School RuneScape (OSRS) — a retro version of RuneScape launched in 2013. Although it is merely a nostalgic branch from the August 2007 version, OSRS inadvertently became a lifeline for millions. Why? Because this game only requires a web browser, low system requirements, perfect for the 2GB RAM Canaima computers distributed by the Venezuelan government to students.

Most importantly, the exchange rate of the in-game gold in OSRS is 1-1.25 million : 1 against USD — stable and more valuable than Bolivar. No doubt, OSRS became the dry bread to stave off hunger for Venezuelans.

Dragons and Making a Living in the Virtual World

Since 2017, Venezuelan players have started gathering in the “East Dragon Hunting Ground” of OSRS to hunt the Blue Dragon. In September 2017, a Reddit guide on how to “hunt” Venezuelan players at this location became popular, later turning into an important meme culture within the OSRS community.

Venezuelan players work with relentless determination. They repeatedly kill Blue Dragons to collect dragon bones and scales, then sell them for in-game gold, which they then convert into Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies to earn real USD. An hour of farming Blue Dragons could earn 500,000 OSRS gold, equivalent to $0.5 in 2017.

More skilled players face more dangerous dragons, such as Zurlah — a winged dragon boss. Here, they can earn $2-3 per hour, higher than the wages of most university students in Venezuela. Some players make $100 a month from OSRS, while their parents earn only about $10 a month. OSRS has become a mainstream income method, both for survival and supporting their families.

Just like Filipino domestic workers filling labor gaps in Hong Kong, Venezuelan players fill the monotonous repetitive farming jobs in OSRS. Besides hunting dragons, they also take on skill training and item crafting jobs. But unlike domestic helpers who can gather outside on the streets, they must create multiple “burner” accounts to avoid account bans by Jagex (the developer of RuneScape) policies against real-world item trading.

No More Dragons - Where Have Venezuelan Players Gone?

Everything started to change in 2023. First, tireless bot programs flooded the scene, massively increasing gold output. Second, Venezuela’s economy continued to collapse without any rescue. Third, the price of OSRS gold plummeted — from 1-1.25 million : 1 USD to just 1 million : 0.16-0.2 USD. The dragon farming jobs became unprofitable.

Venezuelan players did not stop; they simply moved to other games with better benefit/cost ratios — Tibia, Albion OL, World of Warcraft. But some have asked a fundamental question: “Is this way of life right?” They decided to leave the virtual worlds behind.

Eventually, they had to leave their homeland altogether.

Harsh Reality - From Gaming to Forced Migration

According to recent data in early 2026, about 7.9 million Venezuelans have fled the country. This is one of the largest refugee crises in Latin American and global history. Some of them made a living by hunting dragons in OSRS, like José Ricardo — an intermediary in buying and selling OSRS gold.

In English media, we can find interviews with Venezuelans who left their country thanks to earning money from OSRS. They escaped the real economic collapse through the virtual game world, only to run again.

The end of the old era is not a new hope. It is merely history moving forward permanently, ruthlessly, and unstoppable.