Rust hit by catastrophic data loss after fire destroys data center

(Image credit: Facepunch Studios)

Rust developer Facepunch Studios has confirmed that a large chunk of players will have lost their save data after a blaze ripped through an OVH data center in Strasbourg, France (thanks, Eurogamer).

The fire has destroyed one building, and has currently spread to the data center next door, according to OVH CEO Octave Klaba. Everybody has escaped safely, and the network room in the latter building is currently unaffected.

Update:25 of our EU servers remain offline due to a fire at OVH Datacenter in the early hours of this morning. Unfortunately, the fire destroyed SBG-2 building. We're expecting a large amount of data loss across the affected servers. We'll share more news when we can.March 10, 2021

Cybersecurity analyst Kevin Beaumont tweeted images of the destroyed building, as well as a comparison of how the building looked before the fire.

25 EU Rust servers are currently offline as a result of the fire." We've confirmed a total loss of the affected EU servers during the OVH data centre fire," tweeted Facepunch. "We're now exploring replacing the affected servers." The developer has since confirmed that data will be unable to be restored.

What a destroyed DC looks like. https://t.co/YQuVCnUqvWMarch 10, 2021

Rust has seen a resurgence in popularity recently after many big streamers headed over to the game, creating their own servers and of course, tons of drama along with it.

Facepunch Studios is currently exploring how to replace the affected servers. We'll update this story with any new developments.

Mollie spent her early childhood deeply invested in games like Killer Instinct, Toontown and Audition Online, which continue to form the pillars of her personality today. She joined PC Gamer in 2020 as a news writer and now lends her expertise to write a wealth of features, guides and reviews with a dash of chaos. She can often be found causing mischief in Final Fantasy 14, using those experiences to write neat things about her favourite MMO. When she's not staring at her bunny girl she can be found sweating out rhythm games, pretending to be good at fighting games or spending far too much money at her local arcade.