Streamers like Jynxzi are the Ticket to Saving Rocket League, but Only if Epic Games Champions Them

Having mastered the art of giving platforms to the biggest personalities in the gaming industry with the Fortnite boom, the ticket to save Rocket League lies in Epic Games’ arsenal already. If only it can latch on to the massive communities that come and go off the back of streamers again.

Celebrating a decade of Rocket League was a good time to reflect on the product that we have watched evolve. For those established in 2015 that are still flipping their way through Ranked ladders, the skill ceiling has warped in ways that we couldn’t have imagined.

But that’s all put into perspective when the game attracts new profiles and personalities like Nicholas ‘Jynxzi’ Stewart. Allowing thousands of players to relive those hilarious rookie blunders while inspiring a massive community to get involved with this often-overlooked title.

Viewership is up, player counts are peaking, and Epic Games could ride this wave all the way to the bank if only it champions its biggest profiles.

Jynxzi ‘saved’ Rainbow Six; Saving Rocket League is next

It’s quite unfathomable that one person can carry so much weight, but as Esports Streamer Content Creator of the Year, the eighth-most subscribed streamer of all time, and boasting peak viewerships of 189,000 people in the last 30 days, Jynxzi is quickly becoming a modern-day Rocket League icon.

But before that, this pattern was set by his success in Rainbow Six: Siege and Clash Royale. While faithful to the game will likely insist that he wasn’t the title’s redemption, in a time when Siege was at its deepest lull, the streamer unlocked a deep attachment to a title with a steep learning curve. 

In the four years of entanglement with Siege, he flew up the ranks to achieve Champion status, while being awarded a string of cosmetics in the title. Not only were his followers getting involved, but they could sport his likeness in the game and feel a part of a thriving community.

He was even awarded his own skin, shrouded in a Spacestation Gaming bundle.

Now, attention has shifted to a dire-straits Rocket League, and we’re reaping the benefits.

An undeniable impact

According to Stream Charts, in the last 30 days alone, Jynxzi has had 41 hours of airtime on the game, averaging 45,000 viewers, with a massive spike in showmatches against some of the best talents in Rocket League. 

Over on Twitch Tracker, data shows RL is in the highest spot for viewership that it has been since August 2023.

And now, Epic Games has reevaled over one million players have ‘hit the pitch at the same time’, on January 23, one of the first times it has publicly shown the player counts in years – a sign of the good times.

It’s clear to see that the interest is growing, and it’s no coincidence that it comes off the back of a high-profile streamer putting the game on the map.

He’s not slowing down either. On a recent fishing trip, the content guru revealed plans to continue grinding and facing off in exhibition matches against other experienced streamers like Felix ‘xQc’ Lengyel and Kyle ‘Sketch’ Cox.

All of this comes with more attention for current Rocket League stars, too. Having dunked on the head of Wyatt ‘musty’ first, a partnership with French phenoms Alexis ‘zen’ Bernier and Axel ‘Vatira’ Touret turned out to be one of the most fruitful streams in modern Rocket League history – especially when he broke 1v1 kickoff lore against former World Champion, zen.

But, where do we go from here?

Epic Games championing streamers could catapult Rocket League

While it’s been quite an easy ride pointing the finger at the developers of late (removing trading and a lack of major content have been the sticks to beat them with), one area of the game that hasn’t been a success is the way Rocket League celebrates its influencers.

While Jynxzi will probably never be able to make RLCS standard – even on all-star content teams – there’s a missed opportunity give these personalities somewhere to compete. A goal to strive for. A parade to market.

Competitions like Twitch Rivals are a go-to across the entire esports industry, which seems like a tap-in to get streamers and pros together for a spectacle that raises the profile of Soccar across social media. 

There are show matches too. RLCS exhibitions have been a resounding hit on the final day of action. Previously, we’ve seen First Touch take on Chalked Cast, while the first pro-mashup took place at Kick-Off in Copenhagen this year. So, what about a gauntlet of streamer teams live on stage? 

This was echoed on social media, too, as even Rocket League founding staff member Adam Beckwith called for Jynxzi to be the Super Bowl-like halftime show at Worlds.

“Would be stupid fun if one pro player coaches up Jynxzi and another pro coaches [Sketch] from now until RLCS, and then they both 1v1 each other,” he said.

Then, there’s cosmetics.

Admittedly, the Champions Field banners sporting the names of all the World Champions are a splendid touch, and the recent spotlight for Alexandre ‘Kaydop’ Courant with the ‘Shot Like The Dop’ title is a step in the right direction; there’s much more scope to honour some of the biggest influences in the scene.

League of Legends, for example, releases skins for Worlds winners. Aside from the Player Banners, why not start a series of decals specifically honoring these elite players? Working alongside each personality to add creative designs would open the door to creator bundles and other collab-style customization pieces. Pockets full of microtransaction money, happy consumers, loyal streamers tied down for years to come, win-win-win.

It’s a method that Epic Games has already deployed in Fortnite with the Icon Series, benefiting the likes of Martin ‘MrSavage’ Andersen, Kai Cenat, Jack ‘CouRageJD’ Dunlop, and more.

If Rocket League deployed similar cosmetics for long-standing icons and new colossal streamers like Jynxzi, it’s a quick method to keep players interested and loading onto the Ranked ladder.

It’s not just him either (change)

These booms have been a staple of Rocket League. Back in 2023, for example, the Call of Duty community was actively jumping on the bandwagon of Seth ‘Scump’ Abner, who fell in love with Soccar and its difficult nature, bringing countless personalities to the screen. Combined with arguably the biggest shift in RLCS history with the rise of zen, this era was one of the most successful RL has ever seen.

Most recently, xQc brought his huge audience over and has been loading in intermittently ever since.

At its very core, Rocket League scratches that competitive itch in every gamer, and with hilarious beginnings, it gives people the Soccar bug. The more people who get involved, the more Rocket League gets saved from being engulfed by Fortnite’s minefield.

As for Jynxzi, funnily enough, as Rainbow Six was ‘saved’ in this matter, it also spawned an evolution of the game named Siege X. Maybe this upjump in Soccar interest could be the kick needed to renew faith in Rocket League 2.