Epic Games has announced, presumably in another giggling confetti shower of Fortnite cash, that it’s in the process of acquiring four-wheeled footie phenomenon Rocket League and its developer Pysonix for an undisclosed sum.
That’s significant news, given Rocket League’s enormous popularity (it’s sold over 10.5 million copies across all platforms, with 57 million registered players), and marks another wad-flinging gambit in Epic’s aggressive grasp for PC storefront dominance. By the end of the year, Rocket League will be removed from sale on Steam and become an Epic Games Store exclusive.
Rocket League’s large Steam player base has no immediate need to panic, however. Until the transition is complete, some time in “late 2019”, Rocket League will remain on sale through Steam, and Psyonix says it will “continue to support” the game on Valve’s platform. Speaking to Variety, the developer clarified that Steam users will continue to receive “patches, DLC and all other content that hits the PC version of the game through the Epic Game Store”.
Additionally, in a short FAQ on the acquisition, Psyonix assured all players, across all platforms, that “In the short term, nothing will change at all! We’re still committed to providing Rocket League with frequent updates that have new features, new content, and new ways to play the game for as long as you’ll have us.”
In the longer term, Psyonix hopes to “leverage our new relationship to grow the game in ways we couldn’t do on our own before. We believe that bringing Rocket League to new audiences with more support is a win for everybody.” It also says the Rocket League Esports ecosystem will benefit, as the deal “significantly increases our potential reach and resources”.
The deal between Epic and Psyonix is currently due to be finalised at the end of the month or early June 2019, “subject to customary closing conditions”.
