Rust is a survival video game in development by Facepunch Studios for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux. Rust was originally released onto Steam's Early Access program on 11 December 2013. Similar to Minecraft, the game tasks players to survive in the wilderness by crafting items using the materials they gather or steal. By the end of 2015, Rust had sold over 3 million copies on Steam.

In Rust, the player spawns into a world with other players. Unlike many other sandbox games, Rust only features a multiplayer mode. In order to survive in the world, the player must gather resources such as wood and stone and craft tools, weapons and other gear. The player will spawn into the world with only a rock and a torch; the former has the ability to cut down and destroy trees and stones. The player can gather cloth, food, stone, metal ore, sulfur ore and wood by killing animals, mining rocks and chopping trees. They start in the game with an initial crafting list of basic items. As they progress and become stronger, blueprints become a greater part of survival, as the player automatically learns how to craft an item, as opposed to requiring research. Blueprints can be found in specific places around the map, such inside randomly generated monuments (sometimes referred to as "dungeons" and were previously known as "radtowns"), and in barrels. Monuments used to contain radiation hazards, the hazard was removed in a later update because of the annoyance it was causing players.

The player must stay well fed or they will die of starvation. There are other challenges the player may face during gameplay, such as drowning, hypothermia, attacks from wildlife (primarily from bears and wolves), or exposure to radiation from the many irradiated areas throughout the world. Some irradiated areas surround generated structures throughout the game map, which can contain regularly spawned items such as firearms and blueprints. This provides an incentive to the player to risk exposure for the items. A prevalent concept in Rust is to form a "clan" with other players. These factions usually create housing for their members, provide items and supplies with each other and partake in organized raiding and looting.