Axel ‘Vatira’ Touret has renewed his public plea over the state of rocket league, warning that persistent bots and DDoS attacks — compounded by recent budget cuts at Epic Games — are degrading competitive play and viewer interest. Vatira framed the situation as urgent, saying the problems have forced teams and players to improvise with private Discord servers just to practise. His criticism follows earlier warnings and arrives after company layoffs that have removed key development resources, prompting fears of a broader service decline.
Rocket League: Why this matters now
Vatira first sounded the alarm publicly in November 2025, declaring that “Rocket League is dead” as automated accounts and network attacks began to affect RLCS esports LAN qualification. The concern has resurfaced after Epic Games laid off 1, 000 staff members in budget cuts, a move that included significant employees from Psyonix and led to the shutdown of multiple titles, among them the Rocket League spinoff Rocket Racing. Players and stakeholders now worry that reduced developer capacity will slow technical fixes and long-term improvements.
Beneath the headline: bots, DDoS and competitive fallout
At the center of Vatira’s criticism are two technical threats: bots that distort ranked matchmaking and DDoS attacks that force player disconnections and hand wins to attackers climbing the ladder. Vatira described the current state of rocket league as “dire, ” saying, “We’ve had to create Discord servers just to try to play competitively, but it’s not a miracle solution. It’s complicated to manage, not easy to access, and obviously we can’t gather players from all over the world. ” He added that the overall player skill level is declining and that playtime has been cut “in half or even by three, ” a trend he links to reduced viewer counts and shrinking audiences for creators who depend on the game’s visibility.
The layoffs at Epic Games — which included Psyonix personnel — and the shutdown of Rocket Racing have intensified concerns that engineering and moderation resources are stretched thin. Those operational reductions are central to why top players fear that responses to botting and attacks will be slower or less comprehensive than needed during a competitive season.
Expert responses and a fragile roadmap
Murty Shah, Rocket League product manager of Psyonix and Epic Games, responded directly to Vatira’s outburst by confirming that addressing bots is a priority. Shah said, “Confirming I’ve seen this and that it’s top of mind for us. We’re actively working to get more anti-botting measures in ASAP, alongside the upcoming release of Easy Anti-Cheat, to make sure you guys can play without any disruptions. ” He emphasized the importance of protecting RLCS practice environments: “We absolutely cannot have bots impacting your practice for the RLCS. In the meantime, if you run into any bots, please keep reporting them in the Discord. We’re getting more support in there now to monitor your reports and are continuously running ban waves. “
Vatira offered a measured rebuttal to that outreach, expressing skepticism about meaningful progress: “I appreciate the response, but the fact remains that we’ve been seeing the same pattern for months, if not years. ” That exchange highlights a fragile dynamic: leadership acknowledges the problem and has outlined steps, including the planned deployment of Easy Anti-Cheat for rocket league, but top competitors remain unconvinced that the tempo or scale of fixes will restore a stable competitive environment.
The interplay between community trust, visible enforcement, and the technical capacity to implement long-term protections will determine whether professional players, content creators, and casual users regain confidence. For now, organisers and pros are improvising workarounds while developers promise action.
Can Epic Games and its partners arrest the slide and stabilize rocket league before competitive momentum and audience trust are irreversibly eroded?
