Rust fans on PS4 and Xbox One are about to get kicked in the teeth (unless you upgrade before October)

By HOAR Team 14 May, 2025 5 mins read 232 Views

So I was scrolling through my gaming news feed yesterday when I nearly spat out my coffee. Another beloved game is getting the axe for older consoles. This time it's Rust – you know, that brutal survival game where everyone's first experience is getting bonked with a rock by some naked dude screaming obscenities through their mic.

And I'm not even kidding about the numbers here. 12.5 MILLION copies sold. That's a lot of naked rock-fighters.

Play the Audio Version

The Survival Game That Refuses to Die (Except on Your Old Console)

If you're still playing Rust on your trusty PS4 or Xbox One, I've got some bad news that's gonna sting worse than getting raided while you're offline. Starting May 29th, you won't be able to buy the "old-gen" version from digital stores anymore. And by October? Total blackout. The servers go dark after what they're dramatically calling "the final wipe."

Listen. I've put hundreds of hours into this game since it hit consoles in 2021. My wife thinks I have a problem. She's probably right.

What the hell happens to your progress?

That's teh million-dollar question, isn't it? According to Pedro Silva (one of the Rust bigwigs), they're planning something called the "Wipe of Wipes" as a "memorable send-off" before everything vanishes into the digital ether.

Translation: everything you've built is getting bulldozed anyway.

Free Upgrade (But There's Always a Catch...)

Here's where things get slightly less depressing. If you already own the game, you'll get a free upgrade to the PS5/Xbox Series X version. Which is nice, I guess? My buddy Jake texted me about this and his exact words were: "Great, now I have another reason to try finding a PS5 that doesn't cost a kidney."

Poor Jake.

The weird part is the timing. The old version gets delisted in May, but the new version isn't coming until "sometime this summer." So there's gonna be this awkward gap where new players can't buy the game at all. Smart business move? I'm scratching my head on that one.

Cash Grab or Necessary Evil?

Double Eleven (the British studio handling the console version) is rolling out three different editions: Standard, Deluxe, and Ultimate. They haven't revealed prices yet, but I'm betting my last can of beans that the Ultimate edition will cost more than I spent on my first car back in 2007.

I feel like I've seen this movie before. Developer abandons old hardware, releases "enhanced" version with shinier graphics and a few new features, then acts surprised when people complain.

Remember When Games Just... Worked?

Back in the day, you bought a game and it was yours forever. Now everything's a "service" that can be yanked away at any moment.

I still have my original copy of Halo 2 from 2004 that works perfectly in my ancient Xbox. Twenty years from now, will anyone be able to play the games they "own" today?

Doubtful.

The Bottom Line (For Real Though)

If you're one of the millions still playing Rust on older hardware, mark your calendar. May 29th is when sales stop. October is when the servers die. And "sometime this summer" is when you can jump to the new version... assuming you've upgraded your console.

I've spent way too many nights building bases just to log in and find them raided. Now the ultimate raid is coming from the developers themselves. Kinda poetic in a frustrating way.

Anyone else thinking about just sticking with the PC version instead? At least there I can mod the game when I get bored. Just a thought.

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