Rust devs say they log and replay every interaction to catch cheaters
Facepunch COO Alistair McFarlane wrote on X that the studio can monitor players even when admins are offline, "watching when we're not connected to the server like we're playing an RTS game. Every gun shot, every message, every dropped item, every kind of interaction is logged, recorded and can be played back or watched live."
He added that cheat reports feed automated systems that "analyze the player" before taking "certain actions"—sometimes immediately, sometimes delayed. Dedicated staff also review reports, and high-reported accounts are flagged higher.
Facepunch recently announced a move to Secure Boot and Trusted Platform Module (TPM) requirements, which are opt-in for now but likely to become mandatory at some point.
Cheating has long plagued the game and is cited as the reason Rust isn't coming to Linux. Whether these measures feel invasive or necessary, they are seemingly here to stay.