[5] The game itself actually delivers an environmental warning message, with Unigine's CEO Denis Shergin commenting that "Fuel devouring armies that fight over the last drops of oil and pollute already trashed world is nothing but doublethink.

[14] The game was released internationally on January 25, 2012 through digital portals including Desura, Ubuntu Software Center, and finally launching on Steam later the same day.

[15] Independent European publisher Iceberg Interactive signed with Unigine to secure retail distribution of Oil Rush in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, set to be released on February 24, 2012 throughout Europe, with a fully localized version for the German market to follow on March 23, 2012.

Since its announcement, the game has garnered much attention from Linux-oriented tech sites and blogs, the most notable of which would be Phoronix and received much praise for its graphics and gameplay even during its beta testing stages.

He noted, "What could have been a messy title merely created to showcase the Unigine Engine has turned out to be a surprisingly polished and deep strategy game.

"[18] Later in the review, he said of the game that it was "one of the first strategy surprises of the year" and that the "simple design of hop-skip-jump platform fights hides layers of depths that make it an easy-to-learn, hard-to-master arcade naval warfare experience.