Games

Is Rust worth it in 2026? 450 hours in

By George In The Meta · 10 Oct 2026

451 h played · Steam, 11 Oct

Short answer: yes, Rust is worth buying in 2026, if you're enthusiastic about building, with all its complexity, and you're fine with the risk of PvP hanging over it. I've put over 450 hours into it on Steam, mostly on PvE servers, and I still watch a fair bit of Rust on YouTube.

Who is Rust worth buying for?

People who are into crafting, and into PvP, or at least fine with it being there. If you've been playing The Forest, Sons of the Forest, Green Hell or games like that, and you want to try something more, with a PvP environment around it, Rust is worth going into.

Would you buy it just for PvE? Maybe. That's mostly how I've played it, and I've had a lot of fun.

What did my 450 hours go on?

Mostly PvE servers: either full PvE, or PvE with light PvP in marked locations or at marked times. There was quite a bit on zombie servers and modded servers too, trying different experiences depending on what I'd seen people doing on YouTube.

I've written up how that works, and what PvE servers change, in Is Rust fun if you don't like PvP?

Did Rust click straight away?

No, it took a while. I started back when it first came out in early access, and it was a lot more janky than it is now. Not many people were really doing anything, so there was nothing I wanted to do in there. It felt far too janky.

So I played it, hated it, left it, and came back a while later, the same way I did with 7 Days to Die. I wouldn't be surprised if that happened to both of them around the same time. They did come out together: Rust went into Steam early access in December 2013, and 7 Days to Die followed two days later, per their Wikipedia pages (Rust), 7 Days to Die).

What should a solo player know before buying Rust?

Prepare to be a bit confused. Watch a video and learn some of the basics first, because some of it doesn't make sense, and you'll wonder why you're dying so much with a rock in your hand, and why all sorts of slightly more bizarre things are happening to you than you'd have expected.

Every fresh character starts the same way, with a rock and a torch.

Would I go back to Rust?

I last played it properly less than a year ago. I was streaming it quite regularly. I found a nice PvE server, and a bunch of my viewers from TikTok came and joined me. They had a lot more hours in Rust than me, with all the unlocks and all the skins, so that was super fun.

The issue was the amount of time it took, because it would then have to become the only game I play. I know WARDOGS has done that to me right now, but I do try to avoid it. Rust is a game that wants all of your time.

Is Rust worth it in 2026?

Yes, if building with complexity is your thing and you can live with PvP around it. Pick your server carefully, watch a beginner video first, and be ready for it to become the only game you play.