The Esports Observer has obtained a letter sent to Rocket League Championship Series teams by publisher Psyonix which outlines significant changes to the game’s esports structure. This restructuring comes just weeks after teams within the RLCS sent a letter to Psyonix in an effort to address grievances related to communication and revenue opportunities within the existing structure.
Teams that were expecting a response to grievances such as monetization options, ownership conditions, and communication issues, were instead introduced to “an all-new circuit format” that fully replaces the format from previous years.
This past week, North American esports organization Cloud9 announced its departure from Rocket League Esports.
“I love Rocket League and wanted to continue, but the costs of running the team far outstripped the support from the developer,” Jack Etienne, founder and CEO of Cloud9, told The Esports Observer. “I hope to return if those conditions change.”
The new “open circuit” format will see three splits per season with three regional events per split. There will be a total of six regional events across North America and Europe per split. All three splits will culminate in one international major per split and then a world championship. All this will take place in one calendar year.
Events will be used to award points that will determine which teams qualify for the international majors, which then feeds into the world championship.
However, the new structure does not guarantee teams that qualified into the league under the previous format will be able to play in each split:
“Since the circuit system is a more open system, we’ve built in protections for RLCS teams that qualified to the presumptive tenth season of the RLCS,” Psyonix wrote in an email to teams. “Currently qualified RLCS teams will have reserved spots in the first six regional events (assuming the teams abide by roster restriction rules). That means outside of the International Majors, current RLCS teams will have automatic access to two full Splits of regional events.
“Additionally, all currently qualified RLCS and Rival Series teams will have automatic qualification to the first Split of a weekly league that will run from beginning to end of each Split,” the letter continued. “Teams will earn points that will count towards qualifications to the next Split and a spot at the International Major for that split if you finish as the top points earner.”
The email from Psyonix did not address any of the grievances submitted to the league other than to tell teams about the structure change and tentative start dates. With the connection to the league being lost in terms of a league or potential franchise model, teams are attempting to get a handle on what this means in terms of its players and their contracts that were setup for a format that no longer exists.
The Esports Observer has reached out to Psyonix as well as multiple teams for comment.
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