The open beta for the upcoming Rematch game has come to an end and appears to have been a massive success with over 1.3 million players signing up for the three-day event.
Ahead of Rematch’s full launch, the free beta saw significant interest across the Easter weekend with a peak of over 133,000 concurrent players on Steam alone.
Attracting so many players was crucial for the online multiplayer game which is launching with a controversial $30/£21 price tag rather than adopting the usual free-to-play model. However, despite the up-front cost, the game will still feature a battle pass and in-game purchasables though the developers say these are purely cosmetic and the game will not be pay-to-win.
It will be fascinating to see how many of these 1.3 million beta testers convert to purchasing the game when it releases June 19. For those not convinced, there will be an eager wait to see if Rematch joins the Xbox Game Pass or if will be one of the PlayStation Plus monthly games just as Rocket League did when it first launched.
As Rocket League approaches its 10-year anniversary, Sports Interactive try to fix the current mess with Football Manager, and EA Sports gear up to release another iteration of EA FC, Rematch has emerged to offer football fans something new.
The competitive multiplayer game features five-a-side matches with players each controlling a footballer, either as an outfielder or goalkeeper. The simple arcade-style gameplay makes it easy to pick up but hard to master, hence why it has so many comparisons to Rocket League and could end up as a significant esports title. At least its matches would feel like games of football with actual teamwork rather than individuals abusing mechanics and AI mistakes like in EA FC tournaments. Though, that requirement for teamwork could easily lead to a lot of frustration once Rematch is officially released.
In my seven years of esports writing, I’ve introuduced esports coverage to newspapers, interviewed some of the biggest names in the industry, and driven viewers mad with the puns in my YouTube scripts. I’m most proud of the latter.
