It’s been a while since we mentioned Rust. If you aren’t aware it’s a survival game on PC and now on console. Double Eleven, a Teesside UK studio handled the console port and Facepunch from Birmingham UK are the main development team. They were planning a community meet-up during the upcoming GDC in San Francisco. PC Gamer has confirmed it was a small affair. It was an “event that would have taken place at a coffee shop in San Francisco next week”.
Sadly we have to bring news these plans have unfortunately been canceled. The reason is that Facepunch has canceled plans to attend this event. The article stated they cited “an IRL threat” for the reason. The reason for this was to provide an opportunity for “conference attendees and fans to meet the Rust team, share their portfolios, and “talk shop”.
Facepunch Statement
They posted the announcement on Twitter. It seems it’s a decision forced upon them. They make the safety of their staff a priority.
The game’s producer Alistair McFarlane spoke to PC Gamer. What he said is sad to hear. It seems the developers find that it’s common to receive these threats. He confirmed that the team’s community-facing staff see threats daily. Usually, it’s when players have lashed out on social media. He also pointed out that “individuals from the “cheat community” will “often go to great efforts to target individual staff members”.
It’s got to the stage where staff and families have had to alter personal details due to doxxing which “often takes a heavy toll on their mental health”. The article closes with the type of threats received were death threats as well. Sad and worrying news and awful that staff at a developer should face this on a daily basis.
