Rust has already earned 55% of what Garry's Mod made in 9 years.

Update: Blimey, that escalated. According to Newman's recent tweet , Rust has now made 55% of GMod's total profits.

Original As of writing, Rust is winning this round in the eternal battle of the exploration and survival games. Which is to say, it's currently beating DayZ in the Steam charts. It's a battle that will likely flip back and forth over the next days and months, proving that people really like to be bludgeoned to death with rocks, wrenches and the occasional axe. In fact, the game has done so well for Facepunch Studios that, according to founder Garry Newman, it's already made ~~nearly 40%~~ 55% of what his previous game, GMod, made in 9 years.

"We never, ever expected anything to dwarf GMod's success," Newman told GI.biz . "I did some rough maths this morning: in terms of profits, from sales and royalties, in a month Rust has made about 40 per cent of what GMod has made in about nine years. We can't really believe it."

It is a pretty phenomenal figure, given not only that Rust has only been available for just over a month, but also that it's an Early Access title. Meanwhile, Garry's Mod was a regularly updated phenomenon, responsible not only for some of the most endearing pre-Source Filmmaker machinimas, but also for one of the best gaming webcomics ever created. It also had multiplayer servers dedicated to melon racing.

For a rough idea of what that figure equates to, back in March last year, Newman revealed that GMod had made $22 million over seven years.

More revelations can be found in the full GI.biz interview . As for the future of the game itself, check out our own chat with creator Garry Newman . Alternatively, pop on over to our alpha review to see if Rust is deserving on a place at the top of the Steam charts.

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.