1:30pm EST - The update is live and servers are wiped! Game on!

12:00am EST - The new year is here, and while the holiday festivities wind down, Rust is already gearing up for what's next.

The update and forced wipe are expected at the normal time (2pm EST / 7pm GMT). No update stream today. Stay tuned to @Rustafied for news throughout the day.

So long, Xmas!

With today’s update, the holiday season comes to a close and all the festive content says its goodbyes. Santa’s airdrops, jingling bells, and the daily presents have all wrapped up—for now. But don’t worry, they’ll be back to spread cheer again next December.

Looking ahead to February

This update is on the lighter side, as the team eases back in after the holiday break. That said, there’s plenty to look forward to—most notably the Naval Update, now set to launch in February. It’s shaping up to be one of the biggest content drops in a while, and we’ll be keeping you posted weekly as it gets closer. Stay tuned for today’s devblog as well, which will recap 2025 so far and offer a glimpse at what’s on deck for the year ahead.

2025 in review

The team posted a great summary of 2025 along with plans for 2026. Below is a summary, but read the whole thing on the latest Devblog.

2025 Recap
Facepunch’s latest devblog looks back on a huge year for Rust, highlighting record player numbers, a stack of major updates, and the ongoing focus on performance, anticheat, and quality-of-life improvements.

2025 By The Numbers
Rust continued to grow even at 12 years old, with some wild stats to show for it:

Peak concurrent players (Steam): 259,646 (2025)
450,000,000+ game sessions
5,800,000+ unique players
700,000,000+ hours played
37,000,000+ drops claimed
28,523 workshop submissions

Major Updates In 2025
Last year delivered a mix of new modes, big content drops, and sweeping gameplay changes:

Primitive: New game mode plus fresh items and early-game raiding options
Crafting Update: Expanded cooking and farming systems, new workbenches, armor additions, and more
Premium Servers: A new server type aimed at improving fair play and reducing cheating
Jungle Update: A new biome with climbable trees, new animals, monuments, and weapons
Friends With Benefits: Large QoL wave including the party system and snappable deployables
Meta Shift: Progression changes including blueprint fragments, crosshair customization, and puzzle adjustments
Quality Of Life: 400+ QoL changes across the year
Menu Overhauls: Big improvements to the main menu, server browser, store, plus a constant stream of fixes

What’s Coming In 2026
The big theme for 2026 is consistency, with the team aiming to keep the monthly cadence and keep stacking improvements alongside new content.

Monthly updates will remain locked to the first Thursday of every month
Continued fixes, QoL improvements, and seasonal events throughout the year
Rust Mobile is planned for global release in 2026

February 5th: Naval Update
Next month’s update is a big one. The Naval Update is set for February 5th and is expected to introduce:

Player-made boats
Deep sea travel and exploration
New islands and monuments
New AI encounters out on the water
Facepunch is positioning this as a major content drop, and we’ll have a full breakdown as it gets closer.

2026 Development Roadmap Highlights
Alongside Naval, the team teased several areas of active development planned for 2026:

New monuments (an apartment complex was specifically mentioned)
New player models and animation work to improve movement and visuals, and unlock deeper customization
More animals (cows and sheep were mentioned), plus a proper animal breeding system
Revisiting and expanding older content, and reworking weaker systems over time
Intentional “lighter” months built into the roadmap to stay flexible, respond to feedback, and focus on polish

Cheating & Anticheat Updates
Anticheat remains one of the highest priorities, with big numbers and more planned improvements:

338,000+ total bans in 2025
296,000+ permanent bans (up 27% year-over-year)
16,000,000+ cheat reports received (up 28%)
Most cheaters are now removed in under 7 hours of playtime on average (down from ~10 hours earlier in 2025)
Premium Servers also got an update:
Premium requires a Rust inventory value of $15+
Facepunch says the system is working well and they don’t currently plan to raise the threshold
Looking ahead:
More anticheat hiring planned
A new third-party anticheat layer is coming, with more details expected soon
Continued collaboration with Easy Anti-Cheat, including efforts targeting recoil scripting

Performance Focus
Performance remains a steady grind, but 2025 delivered a few major wins:

Load and server connection times reportedly reduced by ~65%
Reductions in RAM and VRAM usage
For 2026, expect continued deep performance work (rendering pipeline, navmesh, and other foundational systems).

DLC & Skins Direction
Facepunch reiterated that DLC work is handled by a dedicated team and isn’t meant to replace core monthly update development.

Expect the current pace of frequent DLC releases to continue in 2026
They’re exploring what a Rust-style battlepass could look like (not confirmed; more discussion likely mid-2026)
Continued support for the community skinning ecosystem, including plans to add 1–2 new skinnable items monthly
Total payouts to community creators has surpassed $32.7M

Rust Staging Reminder
If you want to get hands-on with upcoming content early, Rust Staging remains the place to test it.

Staging has fresh servers for testing (expect bugs and rough edges)
Facepunch may add servers if demand exceeds capacity
They’re also considering a future reward system for high-quality bug reports to encourage more testing and better feedback