Since the dawn of RLCS, it has been both praised and critiqued by esports enthusiasts for being a game comprised of teams of three. Some argued this was way too small for a competitive environment, while others praised it as the players were easier to get accustomed to. Back before there were significant subs with multiple coaches, teams were just the three players. The idea of each team having at least one head coach, one assistant coach, and one sub as complements to the roster is a fairly modern idea when put into perspective.

Even with the modern expanded rosters, many argue this is still too few for a competitive game if it wants to achieve #1 viewership. It is hard to argue against this. If Rocket League wanted to one day bridge the gap between esports and traditional sports, it might be hard for newcomers to get behind a favorite organization with teams constantly having new looks every season and sometimes every split.

Furthermore, when watching modern RLCS, the skill ceiling is becoming so high that the current field feels too small and doesn’t give these mechanically gifted players enough room to shine. The new 4v4 mode in Rocket League might feel like just a fresh new look at the old Chaos Mode, where the teams consisted of four players on a regular-sized arena, but here is why it might be a test to see if 4v4 Rocket League is a plausible format change.

The New Map

Historically, 4v4 in Rocket League was too chaotic and gimmicky, given the smaller stature of the normal Rocket League arena. Hence the name Chaos Mode. Now, with the new arena, there is plenty of room, along with plenty of boost pads. Former RLCS analyst and current Coach for Pioneers, Lawler, has been one of the most vocal proponents of this idea. In his view, 4v4 was never uncompetitive; it was just simply too big an idea for such a small map. But with the expertly crafted new field, this is no longer an issue. Additionally, the mechanically gifted players will be given more room to show off their talents as opposed to the current default field, where players have mere milliseconds to pull off insanely difficult mechanics. That added freedom has implications well beyond individual highlights.

Why RLCS Would Change

At the pro level. RLCS is approaching a ceiling. Mechanical players' advantages are shrinking, rotations and decision-making are near perfect, and most RLCS games are closely decided by constant pressure and the wearing down of the defense. A shift to rosters of four could help the RLCS’s longevity in the long run.

With more space and boost available, teams can now return to an older style of Rocket League. Bigger emphasis on pass plays, counterattacks, and mechanically gifted players have room to work their magic, which is the biggest contributor to bringing in new fans. Exciting, fast, and elusive plays are what attract newcomers to Rocket League, not constant 50/50s and goals scored on a boost-starved defense. The reason mechanical players are important to the growth of the esport is because of their flashy nature. When someone who has little to no Rocket League knowledge sees the brilliance of the mechanics pulled off on such a seemingly simple game, their minds are blown, and they are now hooked.

Additionally, teams' rosters would expand by 33%, which would help in bridging traditional sports fans and fans of other esports titles due to a more conventional, team-like structure. This could also lead to more positional roles being implemented by teams, which would also help bring in those same fans. Now, when a singular person leaves, you are not redefining the entire franchise. This would be huge for the RLCS, as one of the biggest complaints of casual fans is that they can’t keep up with all the roster madness. This is something impossible to argue against. Even full-time diehard fans struggle to keep up with this issue. With larger rosters, there will be more consistency and longevity in these teams, with an emphasis on the team-play rather than two main scorers and a third as a supporter. In other esports titles where teams comprise of four or more, we see teams sticking together longer than most Rocket League rosters.

Talent Pool Is Too Deep to Remain 3v3

Rocket League’s talent pool has outgrown this current format. Every season, we see big names unable to qualify for main events and sometimes retire outright because they are not among the top 50 or so players in their region. When you put it that way, it seems ridiculous that only the top 16 teams in a region qualify for the main event, with just one missed qualification basically ruining an entire season for the top teams expected to go far. Perhaps a structural change to a more traditional sports-like schedule could solve this issue, but it is hard to imagine the RLCS making such a change.

Moreover, due to this issue, you see some of the top players' careers lasting a mere 2-4 years. Could you imagine spending thousands of hours, usually tens of thousands for these pros, on perfecting your craft, just to struggle to stay relevant after roughly three years? That in itself is a ginormous issue, and Rocket League pros deserve better. Not only is it an issue for the pros, but it is also hard for new fans to get behind storylines when the vast majority of players do not have much history or drama to look back on. Implementing a roster of four starters could greatly increase the number of pro players while not diluting the performance. This, in turn, could also make the substitute role more important, as they have four players they could be substituted for, whatever the reason may be, instead of three, further increasing the number of players heavily involved in the RLCS scene. Some may argue that this would dilute the product of the RLCS, but this is simply not true. Every open, we see up-and-comers, non-established names, and major underdogs making deep runs.

Obstacles in the Way

Clearly, this drastic change to the almost decade-old RLCS would not come without challenges, struggles, and opposition. None of this comes without tradeoffs. The first being the learning curve. With more players, the game could become less readable for new, casual viewers, thereby increasing the initial learning curve. Second, and perhaps most obvious, would be the changing of how we play Rocket League. For those who have spent thousands of hours perfecting 3v3, a sudden change could perturb a lot of Rocket League’s supportive community. A rebuttal to such could be that Rocket League is fun no matter how many players are on a team. Whether it's 3v3, 2v2, or 1v1 (some might say 1v1 is not enjoyable, however), the skills are transferable, and no player would be left behind merely due to an additional teammate being added.

A sounder opposition to this change would be the changing of Rocket League’s 3v3 identity. The fast-paced, goal-scoring galore action could become a more methodical, tightly contested game than the one we currently know. Like any conventional sport, the more players added, the less scoring happens. Rocket League is no exception to this. If you hop into a one’s match, scores typically finish in the 8-13 total goals range, while three’s finish about half of that. For anyone who has played the new 4v4 mode more than a handful of times, this is fairly apparent. This would make RLCS goals less frequent, but more impactful and therefore more exciting.

A Realistic Approach

More likely than not, RLCS will never have 4v4 as its main show. Threes is too household and established, despite Rocket League not being a top 10 esports title, and is only trending downwards in regard to viewership growth compared to other titles in recent years. Since its conception in 2016, we have yet to see major changes to the RLCS other than format changes and new regions being added.

A more realistic change that could occur is the implementation of a 4v4 circuit, similar to the recently added 1v1 and 2v2 circuits. However, this would most likely only be a complementary addition, like the ones and twos circuit, and not a substitution for the current main 3v3 show. The likelihood of this occurring all depends on the success of the new 2v2 circuit. With the 1v1 season garnering minuscule to moderate attention in the past, the future of 4v4 in the RLCS highly depends on the success of the recently added 2v2 competition implemented just this season.

Closing Words

With the new 4v4 gamemode, it is possible to see why it might have a deeper meaning than just a new gamemode added by Epic. Epic knows the potential that Rocket League has, and the community knows they make risky, but tactical changes. However, it is unlikely we see the implementation of 4v4 as the household format in the RLCS.

While the addition of a 4v4 circuit could be possible, given the addition of the new 2v2 circuit in RLCS, the only way 4v4 could become the main show is if it gets implemented into the competitive environment and gets more attention than the 3v3 mode. However, one could see this being avoided for fear that it takes away from the 3v3 format, or that too many circuits dilute the excitement and weight of the other competitions. While intentions may be unclear, optimism for the change to the RLCS to four is present. Small, but present.

At the very least, we have a fun new way to play Rocket League and also leave out fewer friends when we play.