Thanks to popular streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube, some games never cease to fall out of existence. Take Among Us as an example, a game that took over the charts in 2020 despite being released in 2018. You can add Rust to the list of games that randomly seem to gain snowball momentum and smash through previous records. The latest hit sensation is Facepunch Studios’ multiplayer survival game, which has captured most every prominent streamer’s attention on Twitch.
The game reached peak concurrent users of 134,483 on January 5, 2021, doubling its previous record of approximately 60,000 users back in 2014. Twitch viewership peaked at nearly a million, with famous internet personalities like xQc and AuronPlayer leading the charge. Rust was never a “dead’ game, per se, but these numbers are unprecedented. You’re probably wondering what the reason is for this massive surge in popularity.
Rust‘s recent spike is due to two content creator exclusive servers: OfflineTV and Egoland. The former, OfflineTV, is the creation of a content creator group by the same name. The group includes gamers and personalities like Pokimane, Scarra, LilyPichu, Sykkuno, and others. Streaming powerhouses like xQc, Myth, and Shroud joined in on the fun, which caused the game to dominate North American viewership charts.
What are Rust’s Streamer Servers?
OTV Rust Server 1 was first created by Abe of OfflineTV as a place for friends to PvP and content creators to make videos. Given the demand for an RP server, another more RP-oriented server, OTV Rust Server 2, is available.
Egoland, on the other hand, is a server in the same vein, started by a streamer named Ruben “El Rubius” Gundersen. Other Spanish-speaking streamers like AuronPlay, Ibai, and MissaSinfonia, among others, joined in on the action. Both Egoland and OfflineTV are “Streamer servers.”
How to join OfflineTV (OTV) and Egoland Servers in Rust
The fact that these are streamer servers means they are invite-only. Invites are for popular content creators or streamers with many followers or the right connections.
These servers’ rules are casual, as the traditional Rust experience can be quite frustrating. For one, there is no looting disconnected or sleeping bodies. Second, there’s no offline raiding, meaning the streamers don’t have to worry about their bases being gone when they wake up. Most importantly, though, the creators want everyone to be respectful and considerate toward each other.
Rust is currently available on Microsoft Windows and macOS via Steam.
