Alistair McFarlane, chief operating officer and director at Facepunch Studios, has officially left the company. His final day was July 30, concluding an 11-year tenure that saw him rise from a QA role to executive producer on the hit survival game Rust.

McFarlane, who often served as the public face of Facepunch, shared his departure via a message on X. He described his time at the studio as consuming a significant part of his life, stating that leaving was one of the hardest decisions he has made. "Rust and Facepunch have consumed a huge part of my life. I’ve loved it, fought for it and given it everything I had," McFarlane wrote. He expressed immense pride in the studio's achievements and the culture that was fostered. "Rust has one of the best development teams in the industry. For more than a decade, they’ve delivered monthly updates without fail, constantly improving, experimenting and pushing the game forwards. I’m proud of the culture we built and the legacy I leave behind."

He attributed Rust's sustained success to its active community, noting that the game is currently experiencing some of its highest player numbers in its 13-year history across multiple platforms. McFarlane indicated that he has no immediate plans for his post-Facepunch career, intending to reinvest time into personal aspects of his life that were necessarily set aside during his dedicated work on Rust.

During his time at Facepunch, McFarlane was known for his engagement with the Rust community on platforms like Reddit and X. He was also recognized for his occasional public antics. Notably, in January, he humorously offered to purchase Amazon's MMO New World for $25 million. Several months later, he appeared to hint at a Rust 2 in development, a rumor later officially dismissed by Facepunch boss Gary Newman.

The announcement of his departure on the PlayRust subreddit garnered significant attention and support from the community. McFarlane stated that the response to his departure message has been overwhelming and that he intends to reply to as many messages as possible.