gaming

Facepunch COO Alistair McFarlane leaves studio after 11 years

Alistair McFarlane left Facepunch Studios on July 30, ending an 11-year career that began in QA and progressed to chief operating officer, director, and executive producer on Rust. McFarlane posted on X that he plans no specific next project and intends to reclaim time he sacrificed for work. He highlighted Rust’s ongoing monthly update cadence, credited the community for the game’s success, and said Rust is reaching some of its highest player numbers in its 13-year history. His departure removes a long-serving public-facing executive as Rust remains a key live service for Facepunch.

• July 30 was McFarlane’s final day at Facepunch after an 11-year tenure with the studio.
• McFarlane joined Facepunch in QA and rose to chief operating officer and director; he served as executive producer and a frequent public representative for Rust.
• He emphasized that Rust’s development team has delivered monthly updates without fail and that the game is reaching some of its highest player numbers across multiple platforms in its 13-year history.
• McFarlane has no specific plans after leaving and said he will spend more time on parts of his life he sacrificed; earlier this year he publicly offered $25 million to buy Amazon’s New World MMO.