Rust seasonal events
Rust has three in-game seasonal events a year, plus a Lunar New Year Item Store collection.
Updated
Next event
Announced- Starts
- 18:00 UK, 19:00 Central Europe, 13:00 US Eastern
- Expected end
- 19:00 UK, 20:00 Central Europe, 14:00 US Easternwith the November force wipe
Arrives in a separate mandatory server and client update. It does not wipe.
Announced by Facepunch in Livestock Update, .
Event calendar
- Halloween 2026Announced
- Christmas 2026Expected
- Lunar New Year 2027Expected
Item Store collection
- Easter 2027Expected
Lunar New Year
Lunar New Year 2027
Expected- Expected start
- Expected end
- about a week after the start
Expected alongside that day's force wipe, which wipes maps as usual. The collection itself does not wipe.
Past collections went live between 6 days before and 2 days after Lunar New Year day: 31 January to 8 February in 2027.
Facepunch announces the collection with a post when it goes live.
Not announced yet. We check Facepunch's news every hour and switch to the official date when it is posted.
Lunar New Year day: Saturday 6 February 2027.
Item Store collection
Each year brings a zodiac mask: Dragon 2019, Rat 2020, Ox 2021, Tiger 2022, Rabbit 2023, Snake 2025, Horse 2026 (Horse Mask). Returning items include the Chinese Lantern, New Year Gong and Dragon Door Knocker, and firework packs. There are no NPCs, loot, monuments or server settings.
Skins
2024 added the Lunar New Year Spear and Dragon Rocket Launcher skins, 2025 wall dividers and wallpapers.
Firecrackers for everyone
From 2020 to 2022 a short update also made the Firecracker String craftable by everyone.
More Lunar New Year items
Past Lunar New Year collections 8
| Year | Start | How it arrived | Notice | End | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Item Store only | Not announced ahead | Not stated | Go-live: lunar new year 2026 | |
| 2025 | Separate update, mandatory | Not announced ahead | Not stated | Go-live: Lunar New Year 2025 | |
| 2024 | Item Store only | Not announced ahead | Not stated | Go-live: Lunar New Year 2024 | |
| 2023 | Item Store only | Not announced ahead | Not stated | Go-live: @playrust on X | |
| 2022 | Separate update, mandatory | Not announced ahead | Not stated | Go-live: Lunar New Year | |
| 2021 | Separate update, optional | Not announced ahead | Not stated | Go-live: Lunar New Year | |
| 2020 | Separate update, mandatory | Not announced ahead | Not stated | Go-live: Lunar New Year | |
| 2019 | Monthly update: Air Power Update | Not announced ahead | Not stated | Go-live: Air Power Update changelist |
Common questions
When is the next Rust event?
Halloween is next: it starts Thursday 22 October 2026 at 17:00 UTC. Facepunch announced it in Livestock Update on 1 October 2026.
Which seasonal events does Rust have?
Halloween, Christmas and Easter are in-game events with their own mechanics and loot. Lunar New Year is an Item Store collection.
Do seasonal events wipe servers?
The Halloween and Christmas updates do not wipe; they end at a monthly force wipe, which wipes maps as usual. Easter either arrives with the April force wipe or in a separate update without a wipe.
What do Announced and Expected mean?
Announced means Facepunch posted the date. Expected is our estimate from past years, and it is replaced automatically when Facepunch posts the date.
Do community servers get the events?
Every server that installs Facepunch's update gets the event. Modded servers can change parts of it or switch them off.
Is Rust Console Edition on the same dates?
No. Double Eleven runs console events on its own schedule; this page covers the PC game.
Related pages
- Force wipe dates for the monthly wipe schedule the events end with.
- Update news for each month's update post, where Facepunch announces event dates.
Sources for these dates
Past dates checked against Facepunch's posts on 7 October 2026.
Official posts
- Livestock Update,
- lunar new year 2026,
- Lunar New Year 2025,
- Lunar New Year 2024,
- @playrust on X,
- Lunar New Year,
- Lunar New Year,
- Lunar New Year,
- Air Power Update changelist,
How we estimate
- Christmas: the Thursday that falls on 13 to 18 December, at 19:00 UK time. Every start from 2017 to 2025 fell on 13 to 18 December.
- Lunar New Year: the last Thursday on or before Lunar New Year day. Starts from 2019 to 2026 ran from 6 days before to 2 days after it.
- Easter, when the April force wipe falls after Easter: a separate update two weeks after the March force wipe, as in 2024, and no earlier than 10 days before Easter Sunday.
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