Psyonix Studios, the minds behind Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket Powered Battle Cars and Rocket League, have been acquired by Epic Games. In a press release, Psyonix said that through this acquisition, they would continue to deliver new content through frequent updates in the months to come. Psyonix is also hopeful to amp up the Rocket League Champion Series (RLCS) a notch, having access to a “bigger market” through the Epic Store.
This acquisition doesn’t come as a surprise for a majority of industry insiders. Psyonix has been working with Epic from the days of the first Unreal Engine, which powered games like Unreal Tournament (2004) and Gears of War. However, the acquisition does not clarify whether it is simply an expansion plan for Psyonix, or whether Rocket League is permanently joining the ranks of Epic as another exclusive. Epic’s wording is a bit confusing, mentioning that the game is “expected” to come to the Epic Store by “end of May to early June 2019”, which does mean that the game can become an exclusive to the Epic Store after the deal is done “subject to customary closing conditions” (which also means that the amount of the deal has not been fixed yet).
Epic Games has been criticized for their anti-competitive business moves with the Epic Store exclusives, but the controversial moves hasn’t exactly prevented them from making dough. World War Z, an Epic Store exclusive, has already sold 320,000 copies and counting, while Anno 1800, the seventh game in the franchise, is apparently the “fastest selling game in the series”.