Epic Games has announced that it will be acquiring Psyonix, the studio behind Rocket League, in a massive transaction that's believed to close in the next few months. Thanks to the immense success of Fortnite, one of the biggest games in the world today, developer Epic Games has been able to launch and build its very own digital storefront. Fittingly known as the Epic Games Store, this initiative has completely disrupted the layout of the digital marketspace for games, as the studio has been gaining major exclusive titles from several publishers.
The biggest exclusive game to draw the ire of consumers that don't want to utilize the Epic Games Store is Borderlands 3. Some gamers were so distraught by the news that they "review bombed" Borderlands 2 on rival platform Steam, which in turn failed to generate any sympathy from the game's publisher 2K Games or developer Gearbox Software. Despite claims that Epic will stop putting exclusives on the Epic Games Store if Steam changes its current revenue sharing policies, the company seems keen to expand the software it can provide to consumers.
In an announcement on the official Rocket League website, Psyonix, the studio behind the race car-based soccer title, confirmed plans to be sold off to Epic Games. According to the studio, this won't have any immediate impact on the way the game is played and is instead being touted as a good thing for the developer as it grants them more wiggle room when it comes to growing the existing game. Despite the acquisition, which is set to be finalized in May or June 2019, there's been no formal announcement that Rocket League will be exclusive to the Epic Games Store.
With that said, Psyonix did confirm that immediate longterm plans in place following the sale do include bringing Rocket League to the Epic Games Store. Whether that means the title will be removed from Steam in the wake of this decision remains to be seen, but for the time being that's currently not confirmed to be the case.
As publishers begin to compete with one another in a bid to create stronger online marketplaces for both consumers and developers, it's likely that a lot more acquisitions will occur. Exclusives have proven to be a great motivator for consumers looking to invest their time and money into any given platform. Of course, Rocket League is still available through platforms such as Steam, but only time will tell if that remains the case for very long. Until then, fans will have to wait on Epic Games' acquisition of Psyonix to finish before expecting any news on that front.
Source: Psyonix