Steam Early Access can be a wonderful thing if you’re an indie developer, it brings in much needed cash as the game is being developed. Facepunch Studios’ Rust is proving very popular right now, it’s ticking the boxes for anyone who enjoys creative gameplay coupled with PvP and survival.
Speaking to GI, Facepunch’s Garry Newman shared some interesting facts on the finances and just how well Rust is doing for the studio which has now grown to fifteen staff in the last year. Rust has already made 55% (after Valve’s cut) of what Garry’s Mod  took in nine years proving that Early Accesss is working for them.
“Yeah – we never, ever expected anything to dwarf GMod’s success. I did some rough maths this morning: in terms of profits, from sales and royalties, in a month Rust has made about 40 per cent of what GMod has made in about nine years. We can’t really believe it”, says Newman.
Newman also points out, and DayZ is a great example of this, if you tell gamers not to buy it they probably will.
“Well, people like doing the opposite of what you ask them, don’t they? We never exactly wanted people to not buy the game, as such, but at the same time it serves as a warning – if they buy it then it crashes we can say ‘we told you so’! Still, it’s surprising how many people did buy it.”
While we sort of know where DayZ is going, Rust on the other hand is constantly evolving into something. Their Steam page pretty much sums up their approach to Rust‘s development stating:
“We haven’t totally decided where the game is headed – so things will change”.
This is meant to be a deterrent so as not to disappoint anyone who thinks this is a complete game. It’s not working. Â This will please Facepunch.
Rust is available on Steam Early Access for £14.99.
