There’s always a significant roster shuffle between Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) seasons, but this time around, there has also been a major organization shuffle. One RLCS organization has definitively left the scene, another is trying to sell its team, and couple of others have dropped their rosters with an unclear future ahead.

The moves aren’t entirely unexpected. In November, sources within and around RLCS organizations told The Esports Observer that frustrations over the lack of revenue sharing and inconsistent communication from developer Psyonix had teams questioning their future in the esport—and that at least one organization planned to leave in the offseason.

It hasn’t all been bad news, however: Team SoloMid recently entered the RLCS by signing ELEAGUE champions, We Dem Girlz. Rogue has been another bright spot, with the recently-relegated organization recommitting to Rocket League by acquiring FlyQuest’s RLCS roster and then adding one of the game’s most popular players.

Despite what he calls “a rocky 2018” for the game, Rogue CEO Frank Villarreal still believes in Rocket League’s esports potential. During a recent interview with The Esports Observer and Kevin Knocke, vice president of esports for Rogue’s parent company ReKTGlobal , Villarreal spoke about the moves and his continuing optimism about Rocket League.

Rocket Renewal

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”After the disappointing last season, we were looking to make a change.”[/perfectpullquote]

Rogue had already been in Rocket League for more than a year and half, but the hot RLCS Season 3 team it signed in May 2017 got worse with each successive season, despite roster tweaks. In November, at the end of Season 6, Rogue was relegated to the Rival Series.

“After the disappointing last season, we were looking to make a change. We really wanted to find a team that both was already in the RLCS but had the potential to become a top team in North America,” said Villarreal. “We feel like North America is starting to get the [level of] strength of Europe in Rocket League, and as you probably saw with the moves that were made this offseason, pretty much all of the top North American teams improved. We were looking to find a team that could improve to that level.”

Villarreal found an interested seller in FlyQuest, and acquired two players and their manager from the organization. Since the players hold the RLCS roster slot, so long as two-thirds of the roster remains intact between seasons, Rogue effectively bought its way back into the league. Last week, the team added past RLCS World Champion Cameron “Kronovi” Bills from G2 Esports , completing the lineup with arguably the game’s best-known player. Villarreal said that he hopes the high-profile addition will help boost Rogue’s audience and Rocket League fan base.

Related Article: Rogue and ReKTGlobal Discuss First Year Together, Celebrity Investors

The moves come at a precarious time for Rocket League esports. As The Esports Observer reported in November, many RLCS organizations recently banded together to demand an esports roadmap from Psyonix, amidst concerns about sustaining their Rocket League teams long-term.

Sources suggested that one or more RLCS organizations would leave during the offseason, and that’s exactly what has happened: FlyQuest exited in this Rogue deal, Ghost Gaming is actively trying to sell its RLCS team, exceL did not retain its Rival Series roster, and the relegated compLexity Gaming has not yet committed to a future in Rocket League after shipping off its captain to Mousesports . Today, Fnatic added itself to that list by releasing its relegated RLCS roster, with plans to “review our involvement in Rocket League,” according to a news post.

Credit: Psyonix

Villarreal wouldn’t comment when asked about behind-the-scenes frustrations or interactions with Psyonix, but said that Rogue still thinks that Rocket League has the potential to be a major esport. He pointed to its accessibility as both an esport and play experience, calling it a game that “will always have a place.”

“We believe in the game,” he said. “Rocket League had a rocky 2018, I think it’s fair to say, and we didn’t see as many tournaments or as much viewership as we would like to see. But it is the easiest entry point for new esports viewers. It has the simplest rule set, and you’re able to understand what’s happening on the screen almost immediately. We like investing in games that have the potential to bring new audiences to esports.”

The Road Ahead

Amidst the reported frustration from organizations, Psyonix announced a revenue-sharing pilot program that will put esports organization-themed items into Rocket League. It’s slated to launch by the end of the next RLCS season, which hasn’t yet been dated, and the November announcement didn’t get into initial partners, the revenue split, or planned items.

Villarreal was reticent to comment on Psyonix’s plans, but said that they’ve seen positive fan engagement from in-game items in Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Siege, which has a number of in-game items based on organizations including Rogue, Team Liquid , FaZe Clan , and Immortals . Each organization earns 30% of the revenue from the sale of its items, plus some Rainbow Six Pro League-branded items benefit both teams and the league’s prize pool.

[perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”We don’t know too much about the plans for 2019 beyond the first couple of months, but those first couple months look very strong.”[/perfectpullquote]

“We definitely like when publishers are willing to do some kind of in-game items with us,” said Villarreal. “One game that we’re heavily invested in the scene of is Rainbow Six Siege, and there are Rogue charms, Rogue gun skins, and Rogue character skins in the game. We’ve found that when there’s the ability for our fans to use Rogue items in a game, it helps us build our fan base—and if there’s any additional revenue that comes from that, that’s great too.”

It’s still very early in 2019, and the next Rocket League Championship Series season hasn’t yet been announced. However, this month’s $100K USD WSOE tournament will help fill the void, along with next month’s $100K DreamHack Leipzig tournament—the first of four $100K DreamHack competitions in 2019. Rogue has seen significant fan engagement around its recent moves, said Villarreal, and he is encouraged by the early signs of Rocket League‘s year to come.

“We don’t know too much about the plans for 2019 beyond the first couple of months, but those first couple months look very strong,” he said. “I’ve been very excited about the competition so far, and by the audience’s reaction to our pickups. We saw more interaction on our tweets about the Rocket League pickups than we did on any of our tweets last year for Rocket League. It seems like the audience is very excited about us and about Rocket League right now. Even the qualifiers for WSOE and tournaments like that have higher viewership than I anticipated. I think things look pretty good for Rocket League right now.”

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”Just in general, we like taking risks on new games.”[/perfectpullquote]

Rogue begins its debut season in the League of Legends European Championship this weekend, and it’s the organization’s first franchised league. Last year, we saw teams like Echo Fox and OpTic Gaming reduce their efforts in non-franchised systems following their acceptance into the long-term partnership of the League of Legends Championship Series.

In an article posted earlier this week, Villarreal spoke about the stability that franchise spots afford teams, especially when it comes to attracting investors, and he believes that all major esports will eventually adopt a franchise model. Even so, he said that he enjoys the “excitement” of a non-franchised league, and as this renewed investment in Rocket League shows, Rogue has a different philosophy towards new and/or non-franchised games that it sees potential in.