The developers of the popular survival game Rust on Steam recently announced a new decision. Due to the changed pricing policy of Unity, they have decided not to support the engine anymore. Instead, they announced Rust 2, which “definitely will not be a Unity game.”
What is Rust? Rust is a popular online multiplayer survival game developed by Facepunch Studios. The game was first released on February 8, 2018, on the Steam platform.
It has attracted a loyal fan base with an impressive 87% positive ratings since then.
In Rust, players find themselves in an open, post-apocalyptic world where they must fight for survival. The game offers wild adventures, chaotic shootouts, the possibility to build huge houses, and a unique role-playing experience.
Here you can watch a trailer for the game:
What does Unity have to do with it? The controversial decision of the Rust developers followed the planned change to the payment system of the Unity engine. Unity is used by many game developers worldwide to create their games.
Starting in 2024, Unity plans to charge a fee for each installation of their games. This fee amounts to $0.20 per installation. It takes effect once a game records more than 200,000 downloads and generates over $200,000 in revenue.
Developers using the “Unity Pro” tier will be charged lower fees per download. They will also only have to pay at higher download and revenue thresholds. The changes are set to come into effect at the beginning of 2024.
In a blog post with the provocative title “Unity can get fucked”, Garry Newman, the video game developer and owner of Facepunch, criticized the planned change. Newman stated that tracking installations was a chaotic undertaking, as there were various reasons why games would be reinstalled. He listed new installations, new computers, giveaways, and also piracy.
“Rust 2 will definitely not be a Unity game”
What really makes Newman angry? Newman emphasized that the costs themselves are not the main issue, but the fact that they were not informed about it.
He said: “We were not warned. We spent 10 years developing Rust on the Unity engine. We paid them every year. And now they changed the rules.”
In a comparison, he drew parallels to Adobe Photoshop and imagined that Adobe would charge users for viewing an image. Similarly, that users would receive bills for the last 20 years afterwards. “That’s just not possible”, Newman said in shock.
What is Newman planning now? In conclusion, Garry Newman admitted that he should have changed his plans as early as 2020 when Unity went public.
He explained: “I’m sure many game companies feel the same way today.” Similar decisions to Newman have also been made by the developers of Cult of the Lamb. They threatened to remove their game from Steam in 2024.
Newman also announced a sequel to the survival hit: “Let’s not make the same mistake again, Rust 2 will definitely not be a Unity game.” Although no further details about Rust 2 have been released yet, the announcement of the sequel remains exciting news for fans.
What would you wish for Rust 2? What changes should not be missing in the game? Feel free to write it in the comments.
If you are still considering buying Rust, you can read this article: Is it worth starting Rust in 2022, the largest survival game on Steam?
