11 years after launch, Rust sets a new player count record

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Rust is one of the kings of multiplayer survival sandbox games, pitting players against each other and the environment in what sometimes feels like a never-ending stream of chaos. While undeniably popular, the title just hit a new player count record (262,284 concurrent users) a whopping 11 years after release — and a looming update is to thank for that.

Rust’s impending Primitive update gives the game a bit of medieval flair. Normal resources like guns and ammunition will be practically impossible to find, meaning players will need to turn to melee combat to vent their aggression. Weapons like swords and crossbows will be a core element of gameplay, but you’ll also get shields to protect yourself. And there will also be towers, battering rams, and ballistas to help you lay siege to your foes, according to PCGamesN.

Executive producer Alistair McFarlane shared a post on X celebrating the record player count: “For the past several months, we’ve been hitting new monthly records. This was a huge one we were unsure if we’d ever beat, not unless there was another global pandemic.” With a previous record of 245,243 players set in 2021, the ever-growing popularity of the game is a delight to see. He also shared a fun YouTube video that’s part 2024 recap, part 11th anniversary celebration.

Rust – 11th Anniversary | 2024 Recap

More updates are on the way, including a total rework for the cooking system, a new biome, and a slew of different adjustments to the game. While there isn’t a set release date for Cooking 2.0, the Primitive update releases on February 6. If you don’t want to wait that long to play it, Rust’s Staging Aux2 branch is publicly playable.

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Rust is a fun game, but a difficult one. You start out on a beach with nothing to your name, while other players already have established bases and won’t hesitate to take any resources you might have. But if you can get past that initial starting phase, it becomes an experience you won’t soon forget.

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Next week, Valorant gets its first new weapon since launch

Valorant Episode 8 Act 1 begins next week, and today, Riot Games revealed that it will introduce a brand new weapon to the game. A double-barreled sniper rifle called the Outlaw, it is the first new weapon to come to Valorant since Riot Games released it in 2020.

As the third sniper rifle in Valorant, Outlaw stands out from the others because it’s a two-shot weapon that doesn’t break zoom when fired and has different reload times depending on how many shots are left. It’ll cost 2,400 credits in the pre-round item shop, which puts it between the price tags of the other sniper rifles during a match.

Steam Year in Review 2023 is live — here’s how to see your Steam Replay

Steam introduced Steam Replay last year for the first time, and it’s back again for 2023. As we close out the year, you get a chance to look back at a bunch of stats for 2023, similar to Xbox Year in Review and PlayStation Wrap-Up. Here, we will show you how to see your Steam Year in Review for 2023.

The wrap-up includes a ton of detail, from what games you’ve played to how many achievements you’ve unlocked. Steam Year in Review is only live for a limited time, but you can download and share your review while it’s running, as well as add it to your Steam profile so you can see it throughout the next year.

How to see Steam Year in Review 2023

After four months with the ROG Ally, I’m going back to my Steam Deck

By nearly all objective measures, the ROG Ally is better than the Steam Deck. It has solid battery life, a nicer screen, more power, and Windows 11, allowing it to access a much wider library of games than the Steam Deck offers. After four months of using both devices, though, I’m fine keeping my Steam Deck.

That might surprise you, especially if you caught my ROG Ally review when I first took a look at the device nearly four months ago. I even tried replacing my desktop with the device on the strength of Asus’ impressive XG Mobile. But after using the ROG Ally for just about every purpose possible, I’ve been picking up my Steam Deck to play games.

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