'Rust' Game Will Be Removed From Early Access, Changes and Price Hike Detailed
The survival game "Rust" will end its four-year run on Early Access on Feb. 8.
In a lengthy blog post, Facepunch Studios explained the reason behind the decision, but they warned that there won't be much fuss.
We're not planning any big reveals, launch parties, around the world tours or cash prize giveaways for this event. We're not going to move staff onto other projects ... It's business as usual.
They did say that the removal of "Rust" from Early Access does not mean that the game is done. In fact, Facepunch notes that there is so much left to do and will keep updating and improving the game.
Don't think of this as us claiming that the game is done. Think of this as us saying that if Early Access didn't exist we'd have released the game on Steam by now.
The studio also asked gamers to "try not to compare the game to some other finished game or some idealised version you have in your head." Instead, it asks the players to compare the game now to "how it was when we entered Early Access." "That's the delta that we feel qualifies us to leave Early Access," Facepunch went on to say.
Think of it more like we're leaving Prototyping and entering Alpha. Obviously we don't consider that we're actually entering Alpha, this is an example. We're entering a more stable version of what we have been doing.
We feel like if Early Access didn't exist and we had been making the game in secret, we'd be happy to put it on Steam now.
Development for "Rust" should be more stable when it leaves Early Access. Facepunch says that they will be releasing updates every month and would not rush in features and fixes "that end up breaking something else." There will, however, be "bleeding edge, daily updates." Both can be installed on the game.
Obviously these updates aren't going to work unless people are playing them, so we're going to do what a lot of other games do and have another version of "Rust" that will sit alongside the "stable" version.
After Early Access, "Rust" will be priced higher — from $19.99 to $34.99.
