The Future Of Sideswipe Esports

Sideswipe’s competitive scene has officially been in place for a few months now, with a season for OCE, EU, NA, SAM, and one off tournaments for MENA and APAC. Although there have been some big positives with the scene’s commencement, there’s also been some scary facts and realization about the game’s competitive viability. Here are our thoughts about what Sideswipe does well, what they need to improve on, and whether or not there will be a thriving scene for years to come.

Let’s start off with the positives of the matter. First off, and obviously, Psyonix has dumped a huge level of investment into the game, right off the bat, without even seeing anything regarding the scene first. Europe, North America and SAM all have thousands on the line in their weekly events, as well as up to $24,000 on the line for the finals across the major regions. These numbers measure up very nicely with Rocket League’s early days, and show that the producers are willing to back the game in for success.

In addition, the breadth of the scene’s birth has been wide and mixed. It’s been spread across 6 regions, there’s a different format in almost every single region, and it exhibits that Psyonix wants to quickly make it a world wide esport and find the best format to do so.

As well as this, signup numbers, especially off the bat, were hugely promising, across all regions, and has showed a good foundation for a strong future.

However, the Sideswipe esports scene also has some blindingly obvious issues associated with it. One of the problems I’ve noticed, particularly in RLO, is the lack of caster experience. Whilst the commentators are highly capable, talented members when it comes to the Rocket League scene, the lack of research and knowledge at times shows, which can make it difficult for higher level players to enjoy watching.

Secondly, the lack of promotion for the actual Esports scene has been largely disappointing. There’s been almost no in game advertisement of the events nor champions, and the social media presence has dropped off, which has had impacts on viewership and entry numbers, causing them to stagnate.

Furthermore, the game is beginning to feel a little stale and in need of change. Play styles are starting to mould into one another, and the lack of publicly known future makes for difficulties in maintaining motivation and scene growth.

So, what needs to be done to improve the scene, and prepare Sideswipe for a successful future? In my view, it should be something that looks like the following:

1. Add a spectate feature: Although it’s been a joy watching and following each region’s events, the one thing that constantly sticks like a sore thumb is the lack of a spectate option. It makes it difficult to fully understand the game, only knowing one player’s perspecti, many players have struggled with latency issues associated with personal broadcasting, and it has overall made events feel clunkier. It shouldn’t be overwhelmingly difficult to implement, and is a necessity for the scene’s future.

2. Viewership: Although solid at times in NA and EU, it has struggled it minor regions and still sits at just below 1k in major regions. In order to improve the presence of the esports scene, there needs to be something to improve the scene’s viewership, be that in game rewards, extra promotion, or a more inviting broadcast.

3. Flair: As unfortunate as it is, the game is currently in a dangerous state where it’s at risk of becoming stale. Most attacks and games now follow similar patterns, and there’s no clear way to make unique plays and situations. Whether it’s a change to 3v3 with a bigger map, the addition of bumps and demos into the game, or even modification to the way boost works, there needs to be some element to revitalise the excitement of both playing and watching to create a greater depth of potential plays and remove the strength of a pure defence play style.

4. Game Mode: From the early days, most (and I stress most, there are exceptions like Fortnite and COD) esports set their sites on one game mode, and stick with that for the duration of the scene. Currently, Sideswipe has two in 1v1 and 2v2, and although not the most pressing matter, it is important for Psyonix to make the call on the appropriate mode so training and preparation can begin for that specific area.

5. Roadmap For 2022-23: One of the critical issues with the scene right now is the lack of foreseeable future. No one knows what’s coming next, and that’s scary. It’s difficult for organizations to invest in the scene, it’s difficult to maintain infrastructure, and it can drive players away. So, to fix this, there needs to be a plan put in place for the next year and a half or so, and preferably, one including at least a LAN and world championship, as well as regional regular seasons, to provide reason for people to remain invested in the scene.

Overall, I truly believe that Sideswipe has the ability to eventually push to be a high tier esport, and if the game can find a way to get past this scary period that comes a few months after release, then it will be set for future success.