Rocket League is a fast-paced car soccer game created by Psyonix on July 7, 2015. Over the past ten years, during which the game has been around, there have been between 40 and 60 million registered accounts and over 200,000 daily players. Before Epic Games bought Psyonix and Rocket League went free-to-play on September 23, 2020, the game had generated around $360 million in revenue. Prior to the free-to-play model, there were seven ranks: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Champion, and Grand Champion. When Rocket League became free-to-play, the player base tripled within the first six months of the change, and a new rank, Supersonic Legend (SSL), was added, which is the highest rank in Rocket League.

So, why is Rocket League the hardest game? A single match of Rocket League lasts only five minutes, yet a single mistake can result in losing the match. The matches are continuous, with no breaks or substitutions. Initially, ranking up may seem easy, but as you progress, you will see the true extent of the game‘s difficulty. The amount of time you need to invest in the game grows exponentially as you rank up. Many players spend over 4,000 hours just to reach Grand Champion and another 2,000 to reach SSL.

Another factor that makes Rocket League the hardest game is its mechanics. Since Rocket League’s release, players have been discovering mechanics that take hundreds of hours to master, and even then, mistakes can still happen. Some of these mechanics include air dribbles, ceiling shots, flip resets, redirects, and flicks. These mechanics, along with new ones discovered over time, are also used in professional matches, such as the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS).

Speaking of professional matches, out of 3,700 registered players, only a few hundred play professionally. Even if you reach the highest rank in the game, there is a low chance that you can compete at a professional level. Rocket League features a variety of ranked game modes, including 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, and extra modes such as Rumble, Hoops, Dropshot, and Snow Day. A season in Rocket League lasts around three months. Of the four million players who participated in 1v1 last season, fewer than 1,800 reached SSL. The most common game mode is 2v2, with over 5.7 million players participating last season, but less than 10,000 of them reached SSL. Although 10,000 players achieved the highest rank, only a few hundred are professional players.

Overall, Rocket League is the hardest game because it requires fast reaction times, game sense, defense, offense, and mechanics to climb the rank system. This game relies on pure skill and your ability to use your controller or keyboard and mouse effectively. Some professionals started playing after Rocket League became free-to-play, while long-time players who played before the transition could still be at a low rank. This demonstrates that Rocket League is not just an average game; rather, it is the most demanding test of skill.

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