Thrilling car soccer game 'Rocket League' is now an esport
Rocket League's holy-crap-how-does-this-work-so-well car soccer action impressed the hell out of audiences in 2015 -- and now it's been officially minted as an esport.
Developer Psyonix has partnered up with Twitch to launch an official Rocket League Championship Series. The first three-month season kicks off in Mar. 2016, with a prize purse of $75,000.
You May Also Like
That might not be big money, at least compared to esports heavies like Counter-Strike and League of Legends -- but everyone's got to start somewhere.
Rocket League's unusual twist on soccer has no shortage of fans, and with Twitch managing infrastructure and community-building for the championship series, it only stands to grow.
The competition will start with open qualifiers to be held before the end of March; registration opens for teams of three on Mar. 25. Players from North America and Europe are welcome. The top four in each region will go on to compete at an international finals event at the end of the season.
If you're unfamiliar with Rocket League, "car soccer" sums it up perfectly. In the game, teams of up to three players -- each driving what amounts to an agile remote-controlled car -- compete to put an oversized ball into the opposing team's net.
Rocket boosters fitted to each car amp up their speed considerably, allowing players to leap, drive on walls or perform somersaulting flips into the moving ball. It's fast, it's easy to pick up, it's exciting and it's one of Mashable's favorite games of 2015.
Head over to RocketLeagueEsports.com to keep up with the latest news on the championship series and to find additional details.
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
Topics Gaming
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
