Is Rocket League Esports Dying? An Exodus of Organizations
Esports organizations are one of the backbones of esports, putting together teams and investing in a scene – which is why we’re asking, is Rocket League esports dying? Accordingly, with teams abandoning the scene, the community is questioning Psyonix and the approach to the off-season. Let’s take a closer look.
Is Rocket League Esports Dying? The Facts
Since being released in 2015, Rocket League esports and Rocket League betting have grown at a phenomenal rate with a related inflation in tournament prizes, event frequency and above all, player salaries.
Bearing this in mind, esports organizations have struggled to keep up with the expenditure associated with running a team and have been abandoning the esport. Here are the best Rocket League teams that have left so far:
- OG – NA 4th ranked team for World Championship
- Team BDS – 2024 World Championship winners
- Luminosity Gaming
- G2 Esports – multiple World Championship wins
- Team Liquid – multiple regional EU wins
- TSM (rumored)
- Gen.G (rumored)
Of the list of teams leaving, the most shocking departures are G2 Esports and Team BDS.
Team BDS – Winning Isn’t Enough
Firstly, Team BDS just won the RLCS World Championship and other Rocket League tournaments and seeing them depart the scene is a major red-flag for the future of this esport. Here’s a snippet of what Team BDS shared on Twitter:
“After thorough analysis and careful consideration, we have decided to adjust our resources and priorities for this game, taking into account the economic realities of Rocket League and the resources allocated by the publisher to the esports scene.”
In a nutshell, despite winning two World Championships in three seasons, Team BDS remained unsure about the finances. Specifically, they point towards a lack of “resources allocated by the publisher” – Psyonix or Epic Games aren’t putting enough effort.
Compare this to Riot Games which supports its VALORANT Partner Leagues with stipends and in-game skins.
G2 Esports – Fans Heart-Broken
If winning so often isn’t financially stable, maybe being an esports committed for 8 years to the scene is? No, sadly, G2 Esports also had to leave despite being a fan-favourite after building Rocket League esports from the ground up.
Here’s what G2 Esports’ CEO, Alban Dechelotte, had to say about the departure:
“Unfortunately, the support we get from the publisher and the tournament organizer of this scene only covers 20% of the costs to operate a Tier 1 roster.”
Just like Team BDS, there simply isn’t enough steam to keep G2 Esports going.
Is Rocket League Esports Dying? Why?
After all this doom and gloom, let’s try to figure out who is at fault here. Accordingly, here are the factors to consider:
- Schedule – with the recent reveal of the RLCS 2025 season format, the offseason is simply agonizing for teams. Simply put, there are three months of complete inactivity in the scene with organizations paying salaries for nothing.
- Lack of Support from Psyonix and Epic Games – many detectives in the community point towards the recent acquisition of Psyonix by Epic Games as the source of the issue. Regardless, Psyonix remains responsible for decisions regarding competitive Rocket League. Accordingly, both are responsible for not helping teams enough and perhaps not putting in rules such as salary caps.
- Inflation – the financial issues stem from players inflating salaries unsustainably. This has come to the point where teams either field dominant rosters or no rosters at all.
We’ll be keeping our eyes on competitive Rocket League. Indeed, the exodus of organizations reminds us of Overwatch when things went down the drain in the Challengers League.
The answer to “Is Rocket League Esports Dying” will likely be seen in the success seen this season – it’s your turn Psyonix.
