There’s always been speculation on whether or not there will ever be a Rocket League sequel. If speculation turns fact, that can hurt the games reputation.
Rocket League has been one of the hottest games of the past half-decade. A simple $20 video game with the concept of ramming a giant soccer ball with cars has turned into a worldwide sensation.
Rocket League has even been broadcast on national TV stations such as ESPN and NBC Sports. There has even been millions of dollars shelled out in cash prizes to competitors in professional esport, Rocket League tournaments. All of this success stemmed from such a simple game concept, one that isn’t even totally unique since Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars came before it. Of course, Rocket League has been much more of a success and with all of this success, how can a sequel possibly hurt the game’s reputation?
Have you ever heard of the phrase “Don’t fix something that isn’t broken”? Well, that phrase is exactly how you would describe a sequel situation in this case. The game is fine the way it is. Thousands of gamers still continue to play a game that came out in 2015 on a regular basis. If a video game still has this much traffic half a decade down the line, there is no reason to add a sequel.
Video games are just like movies. There are certain movies that do better as a solo than as a sequel.
Look at the movie Grease for example. The original Grease movie is one of the most popular movie musicals of all time. So many people were able to connect to it because everything was right with what was going on during those times, that still makes sense in today’s world. Then, because of how popular the first movie was, they decided to produce Grease 2. Some of you might not even know that Grease 2 even existed because it was a complete and utter failure! Rocket League can’t follow that same path or the game’s reputation will be destroyed.
Thankfully, Psyonix has found multiple ways to keep the game as fresh as possible. The developer has been constantly releasing new events, items, and features to Rocket League to make the game feel brand new.
One of the biggest additions to the game was the Rocket Pass that was added November 26th, 2018. The release of the Rocket Pass was most likely due to the fact that Epic Games had released the Battle Pass on Fortnite and Psyonix (acquired by Epic Games a year ago) wanted to stay in competition with such a popular game. By not having a Rocket League sequel, Psyonix is forced to keep up with the times and adjust their game accordingly. The Rocket Pass also adds a continuous stream of incoming revenue.
If Psyonix ends up deciding to make a sequel to Rocket League we can expect that there is going to be a mix of emotions from their fanbase. Some people will love the game, some people will hate it. That goes for any video game. However, the biggest reason why Rocket League’s reputation might be destroyed with a sequel would be the lack of focus on the original game.
Obviously, a video game company is going to put all their focus on a brand new video game. Companies are going to try and make their newest creation filled with tons of add-ons and content so they can sell the most copies and make the most money. Once all of that focus is taken off the original Rocket League, the game will begin to crumble. There won’t be as many things added to the original, the sequel game would have to be somewhat different otherwise it wouldn’t be a sequel, and a game that is basically soccer in a car doesn’t really have any room for a sequel.
There really isn’t a way to make a natural sequel to a game like Rocket League without it being forced upon. If they did it, would be something silly like soccer in airplanes. There really isn’t much of a sequel possible.
I have to say that Psyonix has done a great job with making sure that Rocket League stays with a fresh new feeling. Psyonix has added many events, game modes, and add-ons that are keeping players coming back for more. For a video game that only costs $20 and has over tens of millions of registered players across all gaming platforms, there is no need for a new game.
Unfortunately, nothing in this world lasts forever and eventually all video games begin to die down. However, I am really hoping that Psyonix tries to stretch out the original game until they physically can’t anymore.
While I can be wrong and the sequel can be a massive hit just like the first one, it just seems like something that is really hard to pull off by video game companies. New isn’t necessarily better by any means.
There is a reason why Psyonix hasn’t released another game in the series as of yet. They know that the smallest little slip up can ruin a game that is built up from the smallest concept. Psyonix, don’t try and fix a game that has taken over the gaming community over the past five years. You will end up more likely failing than succeeding. Don’t be a “Grease 2.”
