Gaming News

Epic Games Is Making A Questionable Decision For Rocket League

Player-to-player trading is unfortunately going to be removed.

In some past posts, I’ve chatted about all sorts of things related to Rocket League and Epic Games. You can find those links below.

But for today’s chat, we’re diving into the iffy update Rocket League’s getting — they’re axing the player-to-player trading feature.

There’s some big news shaking up the Rocket League community. Starting December 5 at 4 pm PST, player-to-player trading, the backbone of Rocket League’s item exchange system, is getting the boot.

Yep, it’s going the way of the dodo, and fans are left scratching their heads, echoing a collective “why tho???” in response to the sudden decision. The messenger of doom in this case is Psyonix, the developer behind Rocket League, which, by the way, is now under the Epic Games umbrella after a buyout back in 2019.

So, what’s the deal with this change? Psyonix wants to align Rocket League with Epic’s philosophy regarding in-game cosmetics and item shops. In a nutshell, Epic Games isn’t big on tradable, transferrable, or sellable items in their games.

And since Rocket League is now part of the Epic family, it’s got to play by the same rules. This overhaul will affect the way you’ve been trading cosmetics with your pals, and it’s left many players bewildered.

Now, let’s take a trip down memory lane. Remember the good old days of Rocket League’s item economy? You had those enticing loot boxes, and to crack them open, you needed keys, a premium currency that also doubled as the currency for player-to-player trades.

Well, Epic Games swooped in and made a few changes. They waved goodbye to the crates and keys system and welcomed Blueprints as the new kid in town. These blueprints, instead of offering items directly, gave you the recipe to craft them using Credits, a premium currency introduced alongside the blueprint system.

And that’s not all, folks! They threw in an Item Shop where you can splurge your Credits on a rotating selection of cosmetics.

But, what about player-to-player trading? The allure of bartering didn’t quite disappear with the arrival of blueprints, as players turned to platforms like Rocket League Garage to find and organize their trades.

This fan-made website became the go-to spot for swapping rare in-game goodies, and its founder, Vicegold, even responded to the news with a heartfelt, “It was a pleasure.” However, the website’s operators had no clue this change was coming, and it caught them off guard.

Come December 5, the curtain falls on player-to-player trading, and the official statement from Psyonix is pretty clear:

“There will be no way to trade items with any player or between accounts.”

If you’ve lent an item to someone, don’t expect to get it back because Psyonix doesn’t support lending, and they’re treating all trades as final. So, if you accidentally traded your prized possession away, there’s no support team magic to reverse it.

Now, let’s take a step back and look at Rocket League’s item marketplace. Aside from the occasional cautionary tale of sketchy traders trying to pull a fast one on you, there hasn’t been much drama surrounding Rocket League trades.

The official statement emphasizes that this change is about syncing Rocket League with Epic Games’ existing policy on in-game items. And there’s a little nugget hidden in there:

“[The change] opens up future plans for some Rocket League vehicles to come to other Epic games over time, supporting cross-game ownership.”

Final Words

So, while the loss of player-to-player trading might sting now, there could be some exciting cross-game experiences on the horizon.

Only time will tell how this one pans out, but until then, let’s cherish those last days of trading in Rocket League.

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I provided an update on my last month.

Here are a few of my previous stories relating to Epic Games I believe you will enjoy:

References

REMOVING PLAYER-TO-PLAYER TRADING IN DECEMBER.

Rocket League Axes Trading Mechanic.

RIP Rocket League economy: player-to-player item trading is being removed in December.

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