Rust is getting 10 new playable instruments in its wholesome first "premium" DLC

If you're like me, then you'll firmly believe that all games could be vastly improved with the addition of a melodious hooter that you can blast a proper tune out of when spirits are low. And developer Facepunch Studios is clearly on the same page because it's just announced that Rust's first "premium" DLC will add a whole new range of musical instruments.

Rust already has one playable instrument in the form of the acoustic guitar, but the brutal multiplayer survival game's entirely wholesome new paid DLC will introduce an additional 10 - something that fans seem to have been genuinely clamouring for.

In total, Rust's instrument pack will usher in the wheelbarrow piano, junkyard drum kit, the shovel bass, the xylobones, the sousaphone, cowbell, canbourine, jerry can guitar, pan flute, and, finally, the plumber's trumpet. Which is not the delightful euphemism it might initially seem to be. Pictures of each and every one can be found in the official announcement post.

To accompany the new instruments, Facepunch is overhauling Rust's musical control scheme. It'll soon be possible to bind the standard note range (that is, A, B, C, D, E, F, and G) to any key, and there's also a sharp and octave modifier, making for more than 20 playable notes on some instruments. You can even plug in a MIDI device and play "most" instruments in real-time.


Explaining its decision to theme Rust's new DLC around the glorious communal spirit of shared music, Facepunch said, "When looking at the way other games have handled DLC, we noticed the tendency it has to fracture and split the community. This is something we wanted to avoid."

In fact, it won't even be walling off the new content to those that buy the DLC. If someone that owns the premium pack decides to craft, say, a canbourine for a friend, the recipient can play it to their heart's content. And should a player carrying an instrument happen to be killed, anyone finding the corpse can toot on its plumber's trumpet for as long as they please.

Rust's instrument pack will release on 5th December and costs $10 USD (around £8). Whether the new DLC will be made available for the newly announced Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions of Rust, due next year, remains to be seen.