What is the Rust Staging Branch on Steam? – Answered

As you type in “Rust” in your Steam Library search, you might notice “Rust – Staging Branch” hanging around in your Steam Library. If you’re considering downloading Rust Staging Branch from Steam, it’s important to note of its large installation size of almost 50 gigabytes. Before committing to the download, you may be wondering how it differs from regular Rust. Luckily, we are here to provide clarification and specifics on Rust – Staging Branch.

What is the Difference Between Rust Staging Branch and Regular Rust?

In the modern day and age of the video game development business, there are companies and development teams that forfeit the idea of testing new content internally, and offer it to their community publicly or semi-publicly. In other games, this is known as “Beta Branch” or “PTS” in most games, but in Rust, it’s referred to as Staging Branch.

In Rust – Staging Branch, you get to play on a “work in progress” version of Rust, where some new features and new content are being implemented before being released to the main version of Rust. This is good for the game because it allows the community to give things a thorough test and provide valuable feedback to the developer, and of course, to locate bugs that would then ideally be solved before the version goes public.

Related: How to Get Gun Powder in Rust

Should I Play Regular Rust or the Staging Branch?

This is entirely up to you and your preference. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you want to play a stable version of Rust, or do you want to experiment with something new that might be entertaining but also buggy and unstable?
• Do you want to help the development of Rust by participating in these tests as a passive observer, and then, if you have some more time, become an active contributor by providing feedback to Facepunch Studios?

If your answers were adventurous, you should try and install the Rust – Staging Branch.

How to Install Rust – Staging Branch

If you have Rust purchased, you should have the “Rust – Staging Branch” in your game library. If you want to play Rust – Staging Branch, please type in “Rust” in your library search, click on the Staging Branch, and install it. The installation will be separate from the main Rust game, so you can play any version that you want to play at a given moment. On Steam, the process of finding it looks like this:

That’s all we have about the Rust – Staging Branch. If you want to read more cool stuff about Rust here at Prima Games, check out How to catch fish in Rust and Rust: Weapon tier list guide.