After previously sharing a vague Spring 2021 window for Rust: Console Edition, the development team at Double Eleven has finally given a firm launch date: May 21. The launch comes after major optimization challenges that were needed to get the game running on systems with significantly less power than the PCs required to run the original version.
In a post on its website, Rust: Console Edition studio Double Eleven–the PC version was made by Facepunch Studios–said it needed to get the game working with 4.5 GB of RAM, despite the PC version having a minimum 10 GB requirement. This required rewriting much of the game in the Unity engine, but it still had extremely long loading times that could hit 45 minutes. Further optimization tricks cut this down to about one minute.
“We have got to a level of performance and stability that the majority of our beta testers seem to be happy with, and we are in the background striving to make it better every day!” said community manager Pedro Silva.
It took three years to create Rust: Console Edition, and the game will continue receiving new updates alongside the PC version, though these will not be the same updates the other version receives. It will remain a separate experience with its own roadmap and community.
Earlier this year, the original PC version of Rust saw a huge surge in popularity after big-name streamers took an interest in the game. It was the top-streamed game on Twitch for a time, even beating out the behemoth League of Legends.
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