Facepunch Studios has canceled its plans to participate in the upcoming GDC event in San Francisco following threats made to its team. The studio is known for its multiplayer survival video game, Rust, which was released back in 2013, as well as the sandbox game Garry's Mod. Rust previously set a record for most concurrent players and continues to be one of the studio's more successful releases.
This isn't the first time someone tried to threaten a developer, and in February, a woman was arrested after sending alleged death threats to a Nintendo executive. While most fans often show displeasure when news about their favorite games doesn't come out as they hoped, sending staff hurtful messages or directly trying to endanger others is never condoned. And while most of the threats are considered harmless, they can sometimes lead to the people involved feeling truly alarmed.
As tweeted on the Rust Twitter account, Facepunch Studios has decided to withdraw its involvement in the upcoming Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. While the studio did not detail the exact incidents which led to the cancelation, a follow-up statement reminded followers to remember that developers are humans and that safety is the number one priority when dealing with incidents such as this. However, even as the studio canceled the appearance, it still urged interested parties to submit their portfolios or just reach out for small talk and feedback.
Twitter user and SEA Server Admin Fauzaan commented and speculated that the Rust player base may be bringing their in-game behavior to real life. He further added that from his experience, the game could use some features that penalize negative conduct and encourage friendliness. Perhaps Facepunch Studios could take a page out of Ubisoft's and Riot's playbook in preventing player toxicity.
As Facepunch Studios did not detail the incident, commenters were left to speculate on what happened and who the targets of the attacks were. Some suspect that the negative backlash came from adjustments to the game's balance, with a specific commenter showing off a screenshot of a proposed office raid to get the team to adjust the recoil settings in Rust. However, with no confirmation, fans really have no clue what prompted the GDC cancelation. Understandably, the studio made the right decision in prioritizing the team's safety. Hopefully, this incident does not affect any other events, commitments, or releases that the team has in mind for the future.