It might be hard to believe, but Rocket League is officially turning 10 years old. What started off as a weird, clunky project from a small studio called Psyonix has evolved into a cornerstone of the online gaming landscape, forever altering the way we interact with games. It carved a path through the eSports scene, stirred controversy with major companies, and withstood the test of time as other live-service games died on the vine. As Rocket League passes a decade of play, let’s take a look back at how this seemingly simple game about race cars and giant soccer balls secured its spot in gaming history.
A Supersonic Start
Before Rocket League, there was Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars, released on the PlayStation 3 in 2008. Awkward, laggy, but charming all the same, this game saw two teams competing in soccer matches while driving in rocket-powered race cars. Unfortunately, S.A.R.P.B.C failed to impress, mostly due to its confusing name and poor online network. Learning from their mistakes, developer Psyonix began work on a spiritual successor dubbed Rocket League, creating a refined engine to combat network hiccups, offering dedicated servers to ensure lag-free play, and polishing the experience to AAA standards.
Released on July 7, 2015, for the PlayStation 4, Rocket League was made available to PlayStation Plus subscribers for no additional charge, immediately putting the game in the hands of millions of players. I still vividly remember downloading the game on release night, if only because it was free and looked fun enough to occupy a few hours. From there, I was hooked, and so were 6 million others who decided to give the game a try. With thousands of active players from the start, momentum only grew, with ports of the game popping up on Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch in the years to follow.
Early popularity wasn’t a fluke though, as Psyonix smartly invested in the growing success of Rocket League gameplay on Twitch. In 2016, Psyonix announced the Rocket League Championship Series, established to pit the very best players against each other on the biggest stage possible. As the RLCS took off, other eSports companies took notice, with the Electronic Sports League and Major League Gaming organizations adding Rocket League to their circuits. Before long, Rocket League competitions were even getting mainstream attention, with some matches broadcast on cable networks like ESPN.
Leading the Pack
Beyond its influence in the eSports world and its validity as an exceptionally fun game, Rocket League paved the way and popularized many elements of modern gaming that we take for granted. Look no further than cross-platform play. In the 2010s, PlayStation and Xbox users playing against each other was a sort of urban legend, mostly accepted as impossible among console gamers. However, with pressure from rising live-service games like Fortnite, the landscape was starting to change.
In 2016, Psyonix claimed that they had worked out the technology to allow for full cross-platform play, but were being held back by Sony, the last company still holding out. Over the years, Psyonix kept up the pressure, plainly putting the ball in Sony’s court time and time again, until they eventually relented. In 2019, Rocket League officially supported cross-platform play across all major consoles. Before long, it became industry standard, and it’s all thanks to Rocket League (and Fortnite, of course).
Rocket League was also a major player in the push toward free-to-play games. After Epic Games acquired Psyonix in 2020, Rocket League transformed from a one-time paid product to a free-to-play title, a controversial move in the eyes of some players. For better or worse, this opened up the game to a huge audience of players, thanks to companies like Microsoft and Sony loosening restrictions on online play. In 2020, Rocket League no longer required an Xbox Live Gold or PlayStation Plus membership to play online, a trend that would be adopted by other free-to-play games in the future. As a side effect, this made subscriptions like Xbox Live Gold less relevant as more players turned to free-to-play content, leading to the online landscape we have today.
Another Decade to Come
For some, Rocket League went downhill after Psyonix was acquired by Epic Games, but it’s still going strong despite its age. Since 2020, Epic Games has maintained Rocket League with continued support in the eSports scene, new arenas, limited-time modes, and seasonal content. Even now, players continue to work out the nuances of the game’s movement, discovering advanced techniques amid an ever-changing meta. Every day, thousands of players are logging on, chasing another hat trick or flip reset, and as long as the game stays solid, they’ll keep logging on for a decade more.
There’s a beauty to Rocket League‘s design that makes it one-of-a-kind in the online multiplayer landscape, which is likely why it’s survived so long. It’s not a traditional sports game, it’s not a racing game, and it’s definitely not a first-person shooter, making it even more of an outlier in modern online gaming. Still, anyone can pick up a controller, boost and score a goal, but the skill ceiling remains incredibly high. With any luck, Rocket League will continue to thrive for another decade, and we’ll be spamming “What a save!” and “Nice shot!” long past 2035. At the very least, the game has left its mark on online multiplayer forever, cementing a legacy of ridiculous fun and industry-altering innovation.
