Here’s Why Everyone’s Playing Rust Again

Over the past week, developer Facepunch Studios revealed its online survival game, Rust, generated over $1 million twice in one week. Released in early access back in 2013, Rush is having what many say is an “Among Us” style surge in popularity.

Today, Garry Newman, founder of Facepunch and developer of Garry’s Mod, revealed Rust made over $1 million in revenue on two separate days in the same week on Steam. At the time of this writing, Rust is the most viewed game on Twitch with 717k viewers.

What is Rust?

Rust is a multiplayer-only survival game released in Early Access in 2013 and a full release in 2018. In Rust, several players are put on a procedurally generated map where they must scavenge and craft weapons and supplies to ensure their survival.

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While players usually begin games with only a rock and torch, these can be used to acquire other materials and eventually craft more sophisticated weapons like guns and unique ammo. Essentially, think of Rust like a really violent game of PvP Minecraft.

Why is Rust So Popular Now?

Although a fixture of multiplayer gaming since 2013, Rust is having a bonafide surge in popularity, seven years after its initial Early Access release. Facepunch revealed Rust doubled its player count record on January 7, 2021, beating a record that was set on January 3, 2021.

The explosion of popularity is attributed to a group of high-profile streamers who have taken to playing Rust together on a private server started by Offline TV.

The roster of streamers includes Shroud, XQc, Disguised Toast, Pokimane, Myth, and more. Their streams have brought over a million viewers to Rust, and this exposure is translating into player interest.

The Rust Private Server

Given the high-profiles of these streamers, the private server has become akin to a TV show with different streamers starting up competing factions and focuses. XQc, for example, leads a competitive PvP stable called Team Rocket.

Other streamers on the server prefer role-playing over PvP and Offline announced it will spin up a second, smaller private Rust server with a focus on role-playing.

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Rust was recently rated for consoles by the ESRB, which times perfectly with the newfound popularity. With ongoing stay-at-home orders around the world, more players might discover Rust now. Check out IGN’s Rust review.

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Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Arcade1Up Announces Its First Four-Player Pub-Style Arcade Cabinet

From a four-player TMNT cabinet to the sit-down driving experience, Arcade1Up has released a ton of interesting arcade cabinets, and now it’s announcing its first-ever four-player Pub-Style Head-to-Head machine.

Arcade1Up’s latest machine is called the Pong 4-Player Pub Table and it’s basically a tall round table you and your friends can gather around to drink and play Atari classics. There are 8 licensed Atari games including Pong, Pong Doubles, Quadra Pong, Pong Sports, Warlords, Circus Atari, Tempest, and Super Breakout

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Aside from play classic Atari games, the Pong 4-Player Pub Table is a functional piece of furniture. It even has a clear cover top to protect it from accidental spills. It’s also now available for preorder at Best Buy.

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If you’re looking for a more traditional arcade cabinet, Arcade1Up has also announced a new Dragon’s Lair machine. The machine features an HD transfer of all the original arcade games including Dragon’s Lair, Dragon’s Lair II: Time Warp, and Space Ace. This cabinet is an almost perfect replica of the early ’80s machine with nearly identical art and the same form factor.

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Acrade1Up is also rolling out a new X-Men 4 Player Arcade. Similar to the company’s previous 4-player TMNT cabinet, it’s loaded with the 4-player X-Men arcade game from 1992 but with Wi-Fi added so you can play with others both in-person and online. You’ll also find Captain America and The Avengers and The Avengers in Galactic Storm loaded onto this machine.

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Lastly, there’s a new Killer Instinct made in collaboration between Arcade1Up and Rare. On this machine, you’ll be able to play Killer Instinct and Killer Instinct 2, as well as Battle Toads Arcade. It also features Live Wi-Fi, so you can take on opponents playing from their own Killer Instinct cabinets.

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Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected]

Kevin Lee is IGN’s Hardware and Roundups Editor. Follow him on Twitter @baggingspam

Mass Effect Legendary Edition Reportedly Out in March

Mass Effect Legendary Edition, the remaster collection of the original Bioware RPG trilogy, releases on March 12, 2021, according to a report by Eurogamer.

The release date leak comes courtesy of Singapore retailer Shopitree and Indonesia company GSShop, both of which have posted the March 12 date, which was spotted by Twitter user Idle Sloth.

Eurogamer states that their sources believe the date to be accurate.

 

Electronic Arts has yet to confirm any official release date for Mass Effect Legendary Edition. The collection will include all single-player base content and DLC from the first three games, with “forward compatibility and targeted enhancements on Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.” It will also include all promo weapons, armors, and packs, all in a package that’s remastered and optimized for 4K Ultra HD, along with improved frame rates. BioWare hasn’t shown any gameplay footage from Legendary Edition, but with a March release date, it’s possible they’ll debut some in the near future.

“Our goal was not to remake or reimagine the original games, but to modernise the experience so that fans and new players can experience the original work in its best possible form,” BioWare

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You can pre-order Mass Effect Legendary Edition on PS4, Xbox One, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC right now with our pre-order guide.

BioWare also revealed a new Mass Effect game at December’s Game Awards, teasing a look at an Asari who appears to be Liara T’Soni. BioWare also recently lost two of its most noted members, general manager Casey Hudson and Dragon Age executive producer Mark Darrah.

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Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/romanceable NPC for IGN.

Rust’s Long-Awaited Console Version Has Been Rated By the ESRB

The long-awaited console edition of Facepunch Studio’s Rust has been rated by the ESRB for Xbox One and PS4.

The ESRB rating mentions that the game will be coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with no mention of the next-gen consoles, though the game will likely be playable on the PS5 and Series X/S via backwards compatibility. With ratings announcements usually coming shortly before release, it seems likely we’ll get an official release announcement in the near future.

The announcement that Rust would be coming to consoles in November of 2019 came during the XO19 conference, with a planned release date of 2020. The popular survival game slipped outside of that window, with port studio Double Eleven shifting estimations towards 2021 in a December 2020 update.

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“We’re sorry that we haven’t been able to bring you Rust on console in 2020 as planned,” the blog post reads. We know from all of the messages that you’re excited to play it and we hope that with the dawn of 2021 we can restore your trust as we edge closer to being able to share something with you.”

Rust originally launched all the way back in 2013, at the start of the survival game boom. It has recently seen a massive resurgence on Twitch, with top streamers like Hasan Piker and Limmy playing the game live.

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Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Arcade1Up Unveils New Cabinets At CES 2021: X-Men, Killer Instinct, And More

CES 2021 kicks off this week, and one of the first announcements out of the gate is from cabinet maker Arcade1Up. The company is known to make several announcements during CES, and this year, it’s unveiled six new cabinets and a four-player pub table. No prices or release dates have been announced for the new machines, though the full games list for each cabinet has been revealed. Arcade1Up is set to bring classic beat-em-ups, fighting games, and more to its 3/4-scale cabinet line.

Arcade1Up has six new cabinets in the works, including ones for the classic 1992 X-Men beat-em-up, the beloved Killer Instinct fighting games, and iconic Don Bluth laserdisc game Dragon’s Lair. All three feature more games than just what the cabinet advertises with its panel art–X-Men and Killer Instinct also have online multiplayer functionality.

The cabinet maker also unveiled its new Legacy Edition cabinet line, in which each machine pays tribute to a specific company’s past. The first three honor Atari with a Tempest machine, Capcom with a Street Fighter II machine, and Namco with a Pac-Man machine. These cabinets contain 12 games each, providing a range of titles.

Lastly, Arcade1Up revealed a new Pong pub table that allows for up to four players to gather around and play classic Atari multiplayer games. The cabinet also offers some single-player games, so if you’re lonely like me during the pandemic, there are still some great classics to entertain yourself with.

X-Men four-player cabinet (with riser)

X-Men four-player cabinet (with riser)
X-Men four-player cabinet (with riser)

Arcade1Up’s new X-Men cabinet features art from the 1992 Konami beat-em-up, though it is missing something from the original cabinet: controls for Player 5 and Player 6. The new Arcade1Up cabinet features online multiplayer, allowing you to play with others who own the same cabinet, though the company has not announced whether you’ll be able to play with a full team of six. The X-Men cabinet boasts two other Marvel games as well, including beat-em-up Captain America and the Avengers and fighting game The Avengers in Galactic Storm.

Included games:

  • X-Men
  • Captain America and the Avengers
  • The Avengers in Galactic Storm

Killer Instinct cabinet (with riser)

Killer Instinct cabinet (with riser)
Killer Instinct cabinet (with riser)

The new Killer Instinct cabinet brings the original Rare-developed fighting games to Arcade1Up’s 3/4-scale cabinet lineup. Like the X-Men cabinet, it features a matching riser and online multiplayer. In addition to Killer Instinct 1 and 2, it has the original Battletoads arcade game as well as Battletoads/Double Dragon–the latter only released on home consoles.

Included games:

  • Battletoads (arcade)
  • Battletoads/Double Dragon
  • Killer Instinct
  • Killer Instinct 2

Dragon’s Lair cabinet (with riser)

Dragon's Lair cabinet (with riser)

The Dragon’s Lair cabinet is the first from Arcade1Up to feature the same form factor and size as the original. Additionally, it features both Dragon’s Lair 1 and 2 as well as Space Ace. All three Don Bluth-designed games will be displayed in the original 4:3 aspect ratio.

Included games:

  • Dragon’s Lair
  • Dragon’s Lair II: Time Warp
  • Space Ace

Atari Legacy Edition cabinet (with riser)

Atari Legacy Edition cabinet (with riser)

The first Legacy Edition cabinet pays tribute to Atari’s classic titles. While it boasts the unique Tempest cabinet design (complete with light-up marquee), it features faux coin slots, a 17-inch LCD display, and 12 different games.

Included games:

  • Asteroids
  • Asteroids Deluxe
  • Centipede
  • Major Havoc
  • Missile Command
  • Akka Arrh
  • Crystal Castles
  • Tempest
  • Millipede
  • Gravitar
  • Liberator
  • Space Duel

Capcom Legacy Edition cabinet (with riser)

Capcom Legacy Edition cabinet (with riser)

The Capcom Legacy Edition cabinet features a design that evokes the original Street Fighter II cabinet. It comes with faux coin slots, a riser, and 12 games, six of which are different versions of Street Fighter II.

Included games:

  • 1944
  • Commando
  • Darkstalkers
  • Final Fight
  • Ghosts n Goblins
  • Street Fighter
  • Street Fighter II: World Warrior
  • Street Fighter II: Champion Edition
  • Street Fighter II: Turbo
  • Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers
  • Super Street Fighter II: Turbo
  • Strider

Bandai Namco Legacy Edition cabinet (with riser)

Bandai Namco Legacy Edition cabinet (with riser)

The Bandai Namco Legacy Edition cabinet pays tribute to Namco’s arcade past, with an assortment of the company’s classic games and Pac-Land. Like other Legacy Edition cabinets, it has 12 games in total.

Included games:

  • Dig Dug
  • Dig Dug II
  • Galaga
  • Galaxian
  • Mappy
  • Pac & Pal
  • Pac-Land
  • Pac-Man
  • Pac-Man Plus
  • Pac-Mania
  • Rompers
  • Super Pac-Man

Pong four-player pub table

Pong four-player pub table

Arcade1Up’s Pong four-player pub table is somewhat of a modern take on the classic cocktail table cabinets. It features controls for four different players and eight Atari games that put them to great use. Classic four-player games like Warlords and Quadrapong are included, as are games for one or two players like Tempest and classic Pong, respectively.

Included games:

  • Circus Atari
  • Pong
  • Pong Doubles
  • Pong Sports
  • Quadrapong
  • Warlords
  • Super Breakout
  • Tempest

HyperX Reveals New Compact Gaming Keyboard, Xbox Series X Charging Station For CES 2021

CES 2021 officially kicks off today, and that means the biggest tech and accessory brands are showing off their new products hitting the market this year. Among them is HyperX, which today announced a brand-new compact keyboard, the Alloy Origins 60, as well as a new licensed charging station for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One controllers.

HyperX Alloy Origins 60
HyperX Alloy Origins 60

The HyperX Alloy Origins 60 is the brand’s first 60% keyboard, meaning it has 60% of the keys that a standard keyboard does. The mechanical keyboard features a space-saving layout, letting you maximize desk space for mouse movement and more. Its compact form also makes it ideal for traveling. The Alloy Origins 60 uses HyperX’s red linear mechanical switches, which are known to be smooth and responsive, and they have exposed LED lighting that can be personalized. The keyboard also has a Game Mode and macro setting, with up to three profiles available with on-board memory.

The Alloy Origins 60 gaming keyboard will release on February 22 for $100 MSRP in the US. It’ll be available to buy directly from HyperX.

HyperX ChargePlay Duo Controller Charging Station for Xbox
HyperX ChargePlay Duo Controller Charging Station for Xbox

HyperX’s other new product is the ChargePlay Duo Controller Charging Station, a two-controller charging stand designed for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One. It features a weighted base to prevent sliding and LED indicators that show the charging status for each controller, including an indication of when they are fully charged. The ChargePlay Duo charging stand has a “quick docking design” and comes with two 1400mAH rechargeable battery packs as well as two battery doors to fit onto Xbox Series X|S wireless controllers.

The ChargePlay Duo Controller Charging Station releases in February (no exact date has been given) for $40 MSRP in the US, with orders available directly from HyperX.

In addition to the new 60% keyboard and Xbox controller charging station, HyperX announced it’s taking a few of its most popular peripherals global. This includes the HyperX Cloud II Wireless headset, which is one of the best PC gaming headsets you can buy due to its excellent audio, battery life, and wireless range. The Pulsefire Haste, a lightweight mouse with a honeycomb design, and the HyperX Cloud Revolver + 7.1, a gaming headset with a steel frame and virtual surround sound, are also being released globally. All three peripherals were originally released only in the US and are currently available to buy at the HyperX store–they’re sold out elsewhere.

Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Zombies Goes Free Very Soon For A Limited Time

It appears that Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War‘s Zombies mode will have a free week coming up soon. CharlieIntel spotted a store page on Xbox that states a “Free Access” trial for Zombies will run January 14-21.

If that is indeed the case, an official announcement may not be far off. We have contacted Activision in an attempt to get more details and will update this post with anything we hear back.

Presumably the Free Access trial for Zombies, if it is real, will also be available on other platforms beyond Xbox. Keep checking back with GameSpot for the latest.

January 14 is also the day that Black Ops Cold War’s mid-season update goes live, so it might be the case that this Zombies promotion is in some way connected to that. The mid-season update adds a Cranked mode that resets the timer every time you kill a zombie. The Onslaught mode in Zombies, meanwhile, introduces the Raid map. PlayStation fans are getting some exclusive content, too, in the form of new Dark Aether intel.

GameSpot’s Black Ops Cold War review praised the Zombies map, Die Maschine. Reviewer Kallie Plagge said it’s a “strong map that’s easy to learn and lets you focus on improvement.”

Now Playing: Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War – Zombies Reveal Trailer

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LG’s New OLED Evo TVs Promise to Deliver a Brighter Picture

You might think OLED TVs are in a tight spot with Samsung Neo QLED and TCL Mini LED TVs coming to market soon, but LG is here to show you its emissive displays still have a few new tricks.

LG has announced a new G1 Series with OLED Evo technology that promises to deliver greater luminosity for a brighter picture with punchier colors. The new LG G1 Series is also an elegantly thin panel display, making it perfect for wall mounting. Alternatively, this 4K TV also comes with a standing tripod base so it can stand at eye-level without need any TV console.

LG G1 Series
LG G1 Series

On top of announcing a new series of screen, LG has also updated its flagship CX Series with the new C1 Series. Whereas last year LG announced a compact 48-inch option to act as a gaming monitor, this year there’s a new 83-inch version for users looking for the biggest OLED screen possible.

LG’s 2021 TVs also come with a new bag of gaming tricks including a 1ms response time and low input lag. There’s also a new Game Optimizer that applies the best picture quality depending on the type of games you’re playing while also placing all game-related settings in one place. LG’s TVs also come with G-Sync, FreeSync, and Variable Refresh Rate support.

LG C1 Series
LG C1 Series

Both the new G1 and C1 Series TVs come fitted with an α (Alpha) 9 Gen 4 AI processor for deep learning enhanced sound and audio. AI Picture Pro removes noises and optimizes picture quality, and it can use scene detection to improve picture quality based on the scenes you’re watching. AI Sound Pro adds virtual 5.1.2 surround sound to boost the quality of the LG’s TV speakers.

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Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected]

Kevin Lee is IGN’s Hardware and Roundups Editor. Follow him on Twitter @baggingspam

LG’s 2021 OLED TVs Feature Its Brightest Panels Yet

For 2021, LG isn’t overhauling its popular line of OLED TVs. Instead, it’s addressing one of the most common complaints with the technology: peak brightness.

With its more expensive G-series of OLED TVs, announced during CES 2021, LG is promising better overall brightness levels with what it’s calling OLED Evo. This should, in theory, make picture quality better in brightly lit rooms, where the lower brightness levels of OLED vs. LCD struggled.

LG isn’t including this with its new C-series line, the follow-up to arguably one of the most popular TVs series around the launch of the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. The new C1 comes in various sizes, including 48″, 55″, and 65″, and features a refreshed panel, LG’s new 6.0 webOS, and a more powerful a9 internal processor to help power this year’s iteration of AI picture enhancements.

One new software feature that is being included in both the G1 and C1 series is Game Optimizer. This bundles all the settings you need for gaming in one place, including auto low-latency mode, variable refresh rate, and more. LG says you will be able to create presets for specific games, too.

LG is also refreshing the previous B-series of OLED displays with the new A1 series. It features all the standards as above–VRR, HDMI 2.1, and Dolby Vision–but ships with last year’s a7 processor and fewer inputs. Still, the LG CX was one of the best TVs on the market with roughly the same specifications, so the A1 series might be the real bargain to hunt for.

LG hasn’t shared specifics regarding pricing and release dates, but you can expect these new sets to start hitting in spring later this year.

Fast & Furious Star Vin Diesel On Han’s Return And Heading To Space

The ninth Fast & Furious movie was one of the first films to be delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, and it still won’t be with us until late May. We did however get to see the F9 trailer before the delay was announced, and it revealed that fan favorite character Han will be making his return to the series. Now star and producer Vin Diesel has spoken about Han’s return and what fans can expect from the next movie.

Han, played by Sung Kang, was seemingly killed off in 2006’s Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift and shown again in Fast & Furious 6–which takes place before Tokyo Drift–leading to a fan campaign termed “Justice for Han.” But as last year’s F9 trailer revealed, he’s very much alive. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Diesel explained that the character is a vital part of the series.

“Han is an integral character in this franchise,” he said. “If you remember, he’s kind of responsible for the away years of [Diesel’s character] Dom Toretto. He’s the one doing jobs with him in Mexico, he’s the only one who knows where Dom is, and in many ways is the bridge for Dom when Dom comes back in Tokyo Drift. So there’s something very special and magical about the Han character. When you see the movie you’ll feel it, but I believe at the core it’s another testament to, not only don’t turn your back on family, but don’t give up on family.”

Diesel was also asked about one of the big rumors about F9–namely whether or not the movie will end up in space. The joke is that outer space is one of the only places for the series to go; regular writer Chris Morgan has previously stated that he would not rule it out and co-star Michelle Rodriguez seemingly confirmed it last September. While Diesel does give anything away, he stated that director Justin Lin was the right man to send the Fast family into space. “I will say that Justin is one of those think outside of the box directors,” he said. “I’d put nothing past him and he will thoroughly play with whatever is plausible to incorporate into the story.” Fans might obviously question the “plausibility” of much of the series so far, but we get Vin’s point.

F9 hits theaters on May 28. It also stars Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, John Cena, Jordana Brewster, Nathalie Emmanuel, Helen Mirren, and Charlize Theron. The tenth movie has also got a release date–it’s currently scheduled to arrive in April 2022 . In February last year, Diesel suggested that it could be a two-part movie.

Now Playing: Fast And Furious 9: 14 Ways Han Is Alive