Psyonix responds with new Rocket League esports structure

Following the recent esports news when 13 Rocket League Championship Series teams drafted a letter to Psyonix to complain about the state of the RLCS, Psyonix issued a huge response. Teams who sent their list of complaints expected a response from Psyonix to address their grievances but got more than they asked for. The game publisher plans to revamp the entire Rocket League esports scene, shifting it to an open circuit format.

The Esports Observer obtained a letter from Psyonix to the 13 RLCS teams, revealing the news.

“We have been communicating actively with RLCS organizations and prominent Rocket League Esports community members to gather their feedback, address concerns, and share information with them as soon as possible.” stated Psyonix. “We have no details to share about the next season of the RLCS yet, but these discussions have been extremely productive and we’re looking forward to revealing more about the future of Rocket League Esports in the coming weeks.”

New Rocket League Esports

The letter outlines the changes made to Rocket League’s esports structure. In a calendar year, there will be three splits per season where each split holds three regional events. For each split, six regional events will take place across North America and Europe. At the end of each season (three splits), an international major occurs with a world championship towards the end. With these changes, Psyonix plans to hold many esports events.

Performance in events will award points to participating RLCS teams. However, the same teams that fans are used to won’t be competing. Cloud9 already expressed their intent to leave the Rocket League esports scene due to growing costs. Their roster disbands as Mariano “Squishy” Arruda joins NRG.

Today we are sad to announce that we are departing from Rocket League and after 1,129 days (1,048 as #C9RL), The Muffin Men are splitting up.

Thank you @SquishyMuffinz, @Gimmickrl, @Torment, & @Fireburner!

? Read More: https://t.co/HkQts0R98j pic.twitter.com/z8hZy4O3uf

— Cloud9 (@Cloud9) June 10, 2020

On top of Cloud9 leaving RLCS, the new esports system doesn’t ensure every team continues to qualify. “Currently qualified RLCS teams will have reserved spots in the first six regional events (assuming the teams abide by roster restriction rules),” said Psyonix. “That means outside of the International Majors, current RLCS teams will have automatic access to two full Splits of regional events. Additionally, all currently qualified RLCS and Rival Series teams will have automatic qualification to the first Split of a weekly league that will run from beginning to end of each Split.”

So while current RLCS teams hold an advantage, they will not always be involved in competitive Rocket League. It’ll be exciting to see what Psyonix has in mind to continue Rocket League esports. The RLCS will dramatically change. While Psyonix’s response doesn’t address any original issues the 13 teams had, a new format may indirectly affect those. Esports fans and teams have a big transition to make soon.

Written by Justin Amin