Popular multiplayer survival game Rust is getting its first update of 2021 which not only adds new servers and Twitch drops but is also force-wiping all blueprints from all the game's servers. The seven-year-old game, which initially launched into Steam Early Access in 2013, has seen a bit of a revival lately after several prominent streamers started playing the game on their channels. Some content creators even began playing together and interacting on the same server.
Rust has evolved quite a bit since its early access release in 2013 and its official launch in 2018. Just last year the game introduced Farming 2.0, tech trees, modular vehicles, and a whole lot more. In spite of its long life in early access on PC, the game has yet to come to either the PlayStation or Xbox. Unfortunately, even though an announcement for a console release was made back in 2019, the supposed 2020 release date was delayed due to the challenges presented by the ongoing pandemic. The developer has yet to announce when the game will finally release on PlayStation or Xbox.
A new development blog post on the Rust website detailed the additions and changes that the new update is introducing. Firstly, given the previously mentioned resurgence of the game, the developers have increased the official server count by 13 and plan to bring even more online if needed. The announcement has also shed some light on why several prominent Twitch streamers have decided to take a sudden interest in the game. As it turns out, Rust has partnered with several of these content creators, including Auronplay, Jacksepticeye, lilypichu, ludwig, Myth, pokimane, shroud, Sykkuno, and xQc, for the game’s Twitch Drops. For those unfamiliar with the Twitch Drop system, Rust players will be able to get some special and unique items just by connecting their Twitch and Rust accounts and watching these streamers.
Apart from the new servers and Twitch Drops, one of the other major changes that the update is bringing is a full blueprint wipe across all the game’s servers. This means all the game’s players will be losing all the blueprints they’ve collected and will have to unlock them again. According to the developers, the introduction of the tech tree system last year prompted the blueprint wipe to “get everyone on equal footing once again.” Players won’t have to worry about another wipe happening anytime soon though as the developers have said not to expect another one for a very long time.
It looks like Rust is going the way of games like Among Us and, hopefully, its newfound popularity will stick around for a very long time, which will probably be helped significantly when the game is finally released on the Xbox and PlayStation as well.
Source: Rust