Rocket League remains one of the most popular esports games in the world, despite having been released way back in 2015. It’s a top-tier title that’s free-to-play, which means it’s automatically going to pull in plenty of users. However, the question of ‘is Rocket League dying’, seems to get asked more frequently than ever before these days. It’s no big secret that the game’s popularity levels have dropped since a huge spike in 2020, but is Rocket League dying?
It should be stressed that the game isn’t going anywhere. It receives constant updates from Psyonix, its developer, and it has a bustling and dedicated community upholding the game’s integrity. With that being said, every game inevitably dies out – it’s just a matter of how long it takes for that to happen. So, in this breakdown, we’re taking a look at how many people play Rocket League in 2024, figuring out once and for all if Rocket League is dying.
When Rocket League went free-to-play, there was a considerable spike in the number of players in the game. This was in September 2020, and in July 2021, according to the ActivePlayer database, the Rocket League player count hit an all-time high. In the space of a single month, according to the platform, 100 million players jumped into Rocket League across the course of a single month.
Of course, there has been a drop-off since then – and a considerable one at that, but the game remains strong. In August 2021, developer Psyonix made a rather strange change, though. It was revealed in an update that Psyonix would no longer give players the ability to see how many users were currently logged into the Rocket League platform. This made it almost impossible to track the Rocket League player count.
Instead, the developer relied on a simple one-word status measure: Good, Great, or Amazing, which ultimately highlighted very roughly how many players were online. There were suggestions from within the community that this was an attempt to the Rocket League player count entirely, which at the time may have started dwindling.
However, there’s one way we can get a ballpark idea of what the performance looks like regarding the Rocket League player count. If we use SteamCharts.com, we can find out how many players are enjoying Rocket League at any given time. At the time of writing, Rocket League boasted a player count floating around 11,000 users on Steam, with a 24-hour peak of around 29,000:
That’s quite a comedown from the all-time high of 146,902 – but again, it’s only representative of the game’s performance on Steam. It’s a telling figure, though. In the graph above, you can see a clear decline over time in the number of people playing Rocket League. But is that enough to indicate whether or not Rocket League is dying?
Many content creators have been worried about Rocket League viewership in general all across the board. Understandably many are concerned that their livelihood is dependent on a game in decline. But what about the esports side of things?
From the lows of RLCS Season 1’s approximate 50,000 concurrent viewer peak, the premier Rocket League tournament has grown, reaching a monumental peak during the RLCS World Championship in 2023, racking up 468,292 peak viewers. It was a huge achievement for the game, given that the year before, the peak figure was 368,721. It proves that while Rocket League’s player count wavers slightly, it’s still a massively entertaining esports game.
Even the Rocket League betting scene is on the up.
At least one thing Rocket League has always had going for it is the fact it is rated ‘E for Everyone’. Because of this, it attracts large brands, such as 7-Eleven, Ford, BMW, Lamborghini, Nissan, and more. They don’t need or have many endemic esports brands on board, because so many of the big brands and partners want to be a part of it. They know that Rocket League speaks to an audience that they would like to speak to too.
These sponsors help bring new eyes to the esport and games in turn. This isn’t something long-term fans and players seem to care about though.
Some of the most called-for things are more content about the game. A true and proper integrated creative mode is often asked for after seeing what is possible with the game’s Steam Workshop maps.
Other frustrations come from features that were initially exciting and promising when launched by Psyonix but ultimately have never truly been expanded upon. The custom training, for example, was a revelation when introduced but is long overdue for some new features. Or the club feature, where you can be in a group with your friends. Outside of the small tag on the leaderboard of an online match, this means very little.
An issue that only seems to cause more unsettlement in the community is the lack of communication from Psyonix. Roadmaps are few and far between, and even those don’t seem to stick. The lack of assurance from the game developer leads many to worry. The main thing on the horizon that seems more and more widely accepted as something to look towards, is the rumoured move for the game across to Unreal Engine 5.
Those in the field understand this would open countless doors in terms of possibilities and features for the game. If that potential is lived up to and the rumours are true, then Rocket League could experience a second lease on life. Those eager to climb the Rocket League ranks will still want to do so.
So, is Rocket League dying? Honestly, it’s hard to tell, but it seems too early to book the funeral just yet.
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