Since releasing in July for PlayStation 4 and PC, Rocket League has made nearly $50 million in revenue, developer Psyonix revealed to the Wall Street Journal.
Taking two years and nearly $2 million to make, Rocket League has more than eight million players across PS4 and PC. While Psyonix Founder Dave Hagewood is prohibited from revealing exactly how many downloads Rocket League received when it was a PlayStation Plus free title, he said it was in the millions and that exposure helped the long-term success.
Before Rocket League, Psyonix released Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars on PlayStation 3 in 2008. While it didn’t receive an audience until the price was cut to $9.99, Hagewood said the few who played SARPBC loved it, “so we saw that as a problem of awareness.” This led to them giving Rocket League away for free through PS+, as they wanted to get as many players as possible.
While working on Rocket League, Psyonix “paid the bills by working on some of the biggest games in the industry,” including Mass Effect 3 and Gears of War.
Looking at the paid DLC in Rocket League, Psyonix’s deal with Universal for the DeLorean saw them sharing revenue. As Hagewood added, “It didn’t really sink in until they told me they had to get Steven Spielberg’s approval.” You may see other famous cars in the future, with the developer in talks to possibly add KITT from Knight Rider.
Right now, Hockey Mode and the free holiday items are available in Rocket League for PS4 and PC. Then, in February, it comes to Xbox One, but won’t include cross-platform play.
Have you helped Rocket League get close to $50 million in revenue by buying the game or some DLC?
[Source: Wall Street Journal]
