Rocket League, the adrenaline-pumping car soccer game, is undergoing a significant transformation that has left plenty of its players in a state of shock and dismay. Starting from Season 13, the game will disable the option for players to trade items, a decision that threatens to dismantle the bustling market surrounding the buying and selling of in-game cosmetics.
The final day for item trading in the free-to-play game is slated for December 5, right before the launch of season 13. From that point onward, players will be stripped of the ability to exchange their cherished hats, rims, and exhaust trails or even vend them on third-party platforms.
The main reason behind this seismic shift is Psyonix’s desire to sync with Epic Games’ stance on in-game cosmetics and item shop policies, where items are neither tradable, transferable, nor sellable. Simply put, all your items will now be account-bound.
This move isn’t just about policy alignment. Psyonix has hinted at broader horizons, suggesting that it’s going to bring its vehicles over to other titles under the Epic Games umbrella, fostering a sense of cross-game ownership. Essentially, this could mean that a car purchased in Rocket League might be usable in another Epic title like Fortnite. This kind of interoperability between games is a tantalizing glimpse into the potential of a gaming “metaverse”, a concept championed by figures like Epic’s CEO, Tim Sweeney.
The history of item trading in Rocket League is rich and dates back seven years to the Rumble update. This approach to random cosmetics, reminiscent of Valve games like Counter-Strike and Team Fortress 2, has fostered a thriving secondary market for in-game items.
Some players casually trade with friends, while others have built vast collections, with certain items fetching thousands of dollars.
However, the reaction from the Rocket League community to this announcement has been anything but positive. Social media platforms and forums are awash with players expressing their dismay and frustration. The comments range from accusations of Psyonix wanting to “kill the game” to lamentations about the potential demise of popular trading platforms like Rocket League Garage.
This isn’t the first time Psyonix and Epic have made controversial decisions regarding the in-game economy. In 2019, the same year Epic acquired Psyonix, it retired the crate and key system, replacing it with a blueprint system and a new premium currency.
While this change was met with some resistance, the outright removal of player-to-player trading seems to have struck a deeper chord of discontent among the player base.
In the broader context, this move comes on the heels of Epic Games’ recent announcement of significant layoffs, which affects various parts of its gaming empire, including Psyonix. Whether this decision to remove item trading was already in the pipeline or is a consequence of these broader financial challenges remains unclear.
As the dust settles on this announcement, one thing is certain: the landscape of Rocket League is changing. Whether these changes will invigorate or alienate its dedicated player base remains to be seen, but we know what the outcome will likely be.
