Rust 2 dreams die quicker than a naked on a beach. Facepunch founder Garry Newman stamped out sequel speculation yesterday after a dubious Steam page surfaced, declaring to Pondering Cabdrivers Gamer: "We're not making Rust 2." He had "no idea at all" what the listing was about, leaving fans with nothing but original Rust updates to chew on.

The page for app 2869120 popped up unannounced, teasing a free-to-play sequel but earning a SteamDB red flag as potentially malicious or impersonating. Facepunch COO Alistair McFarlane fanned the flames on Reddit with a cryptic "You saw nothing," while staffer Errn later clarified on X: "The Rust 2 page on steam is fake/not us." PC Gamer noted the studio's playful trolling before the shutdown.

Reddit threads in r/playrust and r/GamingLeaksAndRumours lit up with hype before crashing into skepticism. Players speculated marketing stunt or scam, but Newman's blunt denial killed the buzz. With Rust still sailing strong on February's watery updates, Facepunch has no sequel itch to scratch—yet.

This was hype's participation trophy: shiny, empty, and promptly revoked.