Despite releasing in early access back in 2013, Rust, a survival multiplayer game developed by Facepunch Studios, is getting a lot of attention now than ever before. Of course, video games that become popular years after their original release date is not that uncommon, and one good example is the 2018 social deduction game Among Us.
It is worth noting that while Rust’s popularity is at its highest right now, the game has been able to capture the interest of players since it entered early access in 2013 up until its full release in 2018. For years, Rust has been lingering around the top ten lists on Steam and is considered as one of the best survival games right now. Of course, the question now is, why the sudden interest? And how did the game manage to gain worldwide attention despite releasing nearly eight years ago?
Several popular video game streamers have discovered Rust around the holidays, which led to even more players discovering the survival game. At the end of December, several Twitch streamers such as Shroud, XQc, Pokimane, Disgusted Toast, and many more began playing Rust on the same server organized by Offline TV, which is now causing some drama. This led to the game’s breakout to the mainstream video game community, especially after the game reached a new peak of viewership with over a million viewers last January.
Like many other video games popularized by streamers, this exposure led Rust to reach a new peak of concurrent players on Steam. Although it is worth noting that the peak is not as popular as some of 2020’s other breakout multiplayer games, such as Among Us, but it was still enough to capture the interest of many players. Of course, despite the attention the game received from streamers, Rust’s success is also rooted in its survival gameplay and Facepunch Studios’ commitment to ensuring that the game consistently receives content updates to keep players interested.
On a unique note, another factor contributing to Rust’s success is the sudden popularity of multiplayer games in general amidst the pandemic. Given the lockdown restrictions imposed in many countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic, multiplayer games allowed players to safely interact and have fun with other people without leaving their homes. Alongside Rust, other titles, whether a full-fledged multiplayer game or those containing some multiplayer elements, gained popularity in the gaming community.
This started with Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which proved to be a resounding success for Nintendo, reaching over 20 million units sold under a year. Other breakout games include Among Us, Phasmophobia, and Genshin Impact, and what all these games have in common is their multiplayer functionality. In the end, there are so many factors that could have contributed to Rust’s sudden popularity. The attention it received from streamers and the general rise of multiplayer games are the major factors that allowed the game to break through the mainstream.
In the end, it would be interesting to see whether Rust will pass the test of time, especially after streamers have lost interest in the game and when things in the real world start to go back to normal. However, the exposure it has since received has already led to Rust selling more copies on Steam. Its newfound player base will likely stick around, especially since console versions are already in development.
Rust is out now for PC, with console ports currently in development.
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