Psyonix’s car-soccer game Rocket League is already a megahit with 36 million registered players across its digital and retail versions, but now the studio is working with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to bring its retail version to even more people around the world. WB and Psyonix have not said which regions will get this new printing.
Psyonix had partnered with publisher 505 Games to distribute Rocket League. WB is a larger company, and it has resources and relationships that Psyonix would struggle to build on its own. And while more people than ever are buying games online, a majority of the gaming audience still only buys discs, especially in emerging markets with slower internet speeds or even major markets that only have providers such as Comcast with strict data caps.
“Rocket League has such wide appeal across all audiences, it’s no wonder the game is such a huge success,” Warner Bros. Americas sales president Kevin Kebodeaux said in a canned statement. “We’re very excited to be working with Psyonix to bring the game to retailers across the globe.”
This partnership isn’t only about WB helping Rocket League reach more people. Psyonix’s game is always changing and growing, and that can leave a wide gap between reality and what customers think they’re getting. An example of that is the various arenas that used to come in different shapes. That is no longer a part of Rocket League. So the new copy can include a more recent update of the vehicular sport and highlight the current suite of features clearly on the packaging.
Psyonix and Warner Bros. worked together previously on the Rocket League content themed around the release of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. That enabled players to use the Batmobile from the recent film, and seeing that car play soccer made a lot more sense than the actual Batman v. Superman movie.
