Epic Games bought Psyonix - Rocket League may leave Steam at the end of the year

Epic Games announced the acquisition of Pysonix, which created a successful competitive game Rocket League - a mixture of arcade racing and football. The amount of the transaction is not disclosed.

Given the huge popularity of Rocket League (more than 10,5 million copies sold across all platforms and 57 million registered players), the news illustrates Epic's commitment to expanding its influence in the gaming market, especially on PC. Given the company's desire to increase the number of important exclusives in its Epic Games Store, it is only logical to expect that the new acquisition will also leave the competing Steam platform.

In a press release, Epic said, “The PC version of Rocket League will hit the Epic Games Store in late 2019. Until then, it will continue to be available for purchase on Steam, and after that, it will be supported on Steam for all existing customers." In a comment to Variety, the developer explained that Steam users will continue to receive patches, DLC, and all other content that will be released for the PC version of the game through the Epic Games Store.

But, apparently considering their statement impractical and promising financial losses, very soon Epic made a clarifying statement to US Gamer: “We continue to sell Rocket League on Steam. …Rocket League remains available to new buyers on Steam and long-term plans will be announced at a later date.” All this seems like a play on words and evasive answers. From these statements, it is impossible to definitively conclude whether Rocket League will be sold on Steam after its release on the Epic Games Store. However, apart from Valve, hardly anyone else should be worried. Moreover, this year Rocket League was added crossplay between all platforms.

In addition, in a short takeover Q&A, Psyonix assured all players across all platforms: “Nothing will change in the short term! We remain committed to providing Rocket League with frequent updates with new features, content and play options for as long as you stay with us."

The deal between Epic and Psyonix should be completed in late May or early June. In the long term, Psyonix hopes to use the new relationship to develop the game through previously unavailable opportunities. The developer is confident that the Rocket League Esports ecosystem will benefit as the deal greatly increases resources and potential outreach.