Surviving in a post-apocalyptic world is always challenging, regardless of the game, as there are hostile forces and environmental hazards everywhere. When playing alone, there is little room for error when making decisions in games like Rust, where gamers must always keep their wits about them, lest other human players swoop down and take them out for either pleasure or plunder.
For this reason, as well as a few more, it can be beneficial to group up while playing Rust. Though, players should consider who they can play with depending on the version of the game they have, as the PC and console versions work differently when it comes to multiplayer factors.
Updated on September 29, 2021, by Reyadh Rahaman: Despite being well received and currently possessing a dedicated fan base, Rust was actually in development for a lot longer than many other video games. However, due to it being available through early access, Rust has essentially been on the market for almost as long as it has been in development, proving resoundingly that it is possible for such methods of game development to be viable and successful.
In addition, Rust has done a few things differently than other multiplayer games, focusing more on player freedom than anything else (as well as possessing a few more unique traits), which gamers in-game clearly enjoy.
Is Rust Multiplayer?
Yes, Rust has had multiplayer functions since it was released in December 2013 for PC (early access). In fact, it was designed specifically to be a multiplayer experience where gamers would have to consider how to act with others being part of the game.
The goal of this is to emulate conditions of a real survival scenario where everyone is desperate and just looking to stay alive and thrive by whatever means necessary. Players on PC have been able to play with other PC gamers for years, though never with those enjoying this title on console editions.
Can Xbox & Playstation Users Play Rust Together?
While it is currently impossible for PC gamers to play Rust with their console brethren, there is definitely Rust crossplay between Xbox and Playstation consoles. With tens of thousands of people enjoying Rust via Steam, preparing and releasing console versions was a sure bet for the developers at Double Eleven and Facepunch Studios.
And it made perfect sense for them to head into the venture intending to make cross platform between Xbox One and Playstation 4 versions of their now-famous title possible, as this would make each server even more full of survivors than if crossplay was not present.
When it comes to emulating a living, evolving, dangerous world, having as many players join in as possible adds to the immersion as well as increases the longevity of the game by simply having a larger and more active player base.
Should Rust Get Crossplay Between PC & Console Versions?
There are significant differences between developing games for PC and for consoles (even between the different consoles as well!), all of which require the attention of developers due to the diverse needs and the variety of bugs or other problems that can arise.
While expanding to consoles was a great move, it's important that the developers of Rust do not overextend themselves by continuously adding complex changes. Their plan to keep the PC and console versions of Rust separate has allowed them to see a clean and successful console launch with few issues.
While having crossplay between PC and console versions of the game would be awesome, it's more important to maintain the integrity of each version of the game and not compensate for inevitable communication issues that would undeniably arise between vastly different platforms.
The Development Of Rust
As mentioned before, Rust became available to the public through early access on Steam in 2013, but it wasn't until 2018 that it was fully released, meaning it was in development for over 5 years. Thankfully, it was 5 years well spent and was clearly full of many bug fixes, countless updates, and a tremendous amount of fine-tweaking.
One of the main goals of Rust was to create a multiplayer experience completely free from influence, meaning that the developers at Facepunch studios wanted to allow players to craft their own experience and do what they wanted most. Not long after the alpha launch of the game in late 2013, Facepunch noticed that integrating an audio communication feature did something very different for player-on-player interactions. Without the ability to use voice chat with others nearby, players would kill each other mercilessly, however, when given the ability to communicate quickly and easily, people stopped being as hostile, which the CEO of Facepunch stated in an interview in 2014.
Speaking of the CEO of Facepunch, Garry Newman, many are not aware that he is the "Garry" of "Garry's Mod". Using his experience in developing Garry's Mod making use of Valve's Source engine, Garry and his team at Facepunch was able to create a new kind of experience in Rust that mimicked the immense freedom of Garry's Mod, but in a survival-oriented setting.
Rust is available on macOS, Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.