Rust's 1 million sales unexpected, but success brings new challenges says Newman

Rust developer Garry Newman has responded to the sandbox game passing one million sales, and has stressed that the reaction from players has brought a new breed of challenge to the table.

We reported on Rust's one million sale milestone this morning. It's a big deal, considering the game is still in alpha courtesy of Steam Early Access.

I also penned a Rust diary, which charted my painful descent into Newman's survival hell. Go read it to see what the game's all about.

Now, speaking with Polygon, Newman has responded to the figures. "Saying we're surprised is a total understatement," he began. "We never expected Rust to ever sell over a million copies, to sell over a million within a couple of months while still in really early development is insane to us."

This success doesn't spell an easy ride for Newman and the team at Facepunch Studios however. If anything, the pressure has just mounted further. "Selling this many copies isn't without worries," he continued. "Will these millions of people expect us to evolve the game in the ways we're going to evolve it? Will we be able to make them happy? The tens of millions of dollars [may] take the edge off slightly, but we still have these worries."

He told the site that he's notoriously pessimistic, and as a result, is wary of Rust's standing. "If something good like this happens, I'm expecting it all to turn to s**t at any minute," he conceded. "Like the good things that happen are just the set up to a punch line of massive failure. So we're trying not to take anything for granted."

Do you think Rust's success is well-earned? Are you enjoying it? Let us know below.