‘Rust’ Is Coming To Consoles Spring 2021

Rust (Image: Facepunch Studios))

Facepunch Studios’ survival epic Rust has been available to PC players for almost a decade. Thanks to a collaboration with UK publisher Double Eleven, the hectic, unforgiving survival game will be coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in Spring 2021.

Double Eleven’s Twitter page had a bit of fun with the announcement, counting down from three with screenshots until dropping their newest console trailer.

The trailer curiously doesn’t mention PlayStation 5 or Xbox X/S ports, but the two consoles have proven to be backwards compatible powerhouses, so players likely expect to play Rust on their next-gen devices too.

Double Eleven is currently hosting a closed-beta testing session for console players that will likely go until the end of March. Depending on the results of the beta, players may hear a firm release date sooner than expected.

“The title has evolved from its earliest days as a primal-survival game to one that stands out among its competitors–featuring shockingly detailed worlds to explore and build in, filled with a variety of gameplay styles, weapons, crafts, and above all else: combat,” a Double Eleven spokesperson said in a post-announcement statement.

Double Eleven’s statement rings true to anyone who played Rust in it’s pre-alpha release days. Then, the game’s excitement usually came from seeing another player and bashing each other with a stick until someone died. Early game build server wipes meant even the most pristine base wouldn’t last a week. The game’s clan warfare is a primal kind of fun, but most battles usually amount to busting down a door and killing everyone when they’re asleep. Those few moments of sharp, intense warfare, though, make up for the basic resource collection that made it possible.

Everyone who’s played Rust has the “that one time,” story that lives on like a folk tale. For me, it was that one time my clan and I faced certain doom from neighbors and sneaked out of our base under night’s cover. From a cliff, we watched the impending invasion. All they found though, was empty chests.

Brandon Mumei