In a continuation of snatching up exclusives left and right, Epic has purchased the developer of Rocket League, Psyonix.
The future is currently unknown for the Steam version of Rocket League. Psyonix and Epic state that the game will remain available for 2019, but it’s more than likely the game will be pulled from Steam shelves following its release on the Epic Games Store.
“The PC version of Rocket League will come to the Epic Games store in late 2019. In the meantime, it will continue to be available for purchase on Steam; thereafter it will continue to be supported on Steam for all existing purchasers.”
However, Variety reports that the Steam version of the game will continue to receive support including future patches, DLC, and any other form of extra content in the future.
The relationship between Psyonix and Epic goes far back, and the two companies have worked closely together over the many years. Psyonix worked with Epic improving the Unreal Engine, and according to Epic, Psyonix was also key in the development of Unreal Engine games such as Unreal Tournament 2004, Gears of War, and Mass Effect 3.
“Psyonix has always been a part of the Epic family, and we’re happy to make it official.”
-Tim Sweeney, Epic CEO
Many are concerned for the future of Rocket League as it could mean the death of workshop content and trading.
To be clear, neither Epic nor Psyonix have confirmed that the game will be pulled from Steam, but according to Epic’s history with exclusives and wording around the subject it seems that it’s more than likely that the game’s Steam version has an end in sight for purchases.