, and parents can actually understand if their kid is winning a match.
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It’s a real esport played by professional organizations, so there’s more of a path-to-pro than other “safe” options like sports simulations, the team nature and lack of Nintendo involvement makes it better for school clubs than Smash Bros. In that arena, a game with no violence and gameplay that’s easy to comprehend for an outsider is a slam dunk.
Shooters are going to largely be a non-starter, and I imagine many parents have similar feelings to those of the International Olympic Committee that any game with “killing” as a core gameplay element will be a tough sell. Middle and high schools are going to take a long time to see widespread adoption of the major esports titles. However, there is one still largely untapped area of esports where all the factors that people have touted for years about Rocket League could make it a dominant force – scholastic esports. Perhaps Rocket League Sideswipe will become a relevant esports title, but that may have little impact on pushing the original to Tier One status. With the recent announcement of a mobile version, Rocket League may see a new surge of interest, but historically if there are any substantial gameplay differences in a mobile port their esports ecosystems become separate entities. While its player base numbers are worthy of celebration, they do not approach the figures touted by the League of Legends and Counter-Strikes of the world. When the Epic Games acquisition was first announced, there was a hope that the Fortnite maker’s deep pockets would help boost Rocket League with an attention-grabbing prize pool, but while prize money has grown, it is nowhere near enough to take notice in a world where The International is creeping closer to $50M. Rocket League is an excellent game that everyone involved should be proud of.īut that burning question still remains - what will it take to push the game to a higher status as an esport? If it’s so accessible, why aren’t more people watching it? Psyonix Studios was able to leverage the game’s breakout success into an acquisition by Epic Games. It’s biggest events draw solid viewership, even breaking last week’s Top Five in hours watched.
In fact, last September Rocket League passed 1M concurrent players across all platforms. On Steam alone the game still averages more than 50K concurrent players (having grown its player base on other platforms since going free-to-play). Let me be extremely clear - Rocket League is a monumental success and a truly fantastic esport.
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So why isn’t it the biggest esport? Why has it never made Tier One on The Esports Observer’s quarterly PC Games Impact Index ? Why is it outside of the Top 10 every year in prize money on Esports Earnings ? The game’s structure most closely mirrors a traditional sport without being a pure sports sim, it requires the least mechanical knowledge to follow mid-match, and creates some of the most stunning, skill-expressive highlights of any esport. In the esports industry, there is no esport with greater potential to penetrate popular culture than Rocket League.