Rocket League community divided as RLCS lowers age requirement to 13

The Rocket League community is divided over the RLCS lowering the age requirement to 13 to compete in the professional esports league.

Rocket League as an esport has always skewed young as the game features no violence, is rated E, and has a straightforward premise. But, the Rocket League Championship Series has had an age requirement of 15 years old for pros looking to compete at the highest level, keeping some of their younger players out of the esport.

However, the league announced on December 15 that it would be lowering its age requirement even more, to 13 years old.

This age limit is thought to be the lowest across esports leagues. Riot Games has instituted an age limit of 17 or 18 for its Valorant leagues depending on the region, and the developer has it set at 18 for the League of Legends European Championship. Other popular esports titles without formal developer-ran leagues like Counter-Strike and Super Smash Bros. do not have a formal age requirement, but teams do have to follow relevant child labor laws in their operating country when signing players.

So far, the announcement has proved controversial as the community seems mixed on the new age requirement.

Rocket League community split on RLCS changing age requirement to 13

While some of the game’s younger population seemed excited about the change, more tenured esports professionals who have worked in the industry for years are more hesitant to champion the announcement.

“13 years old is cool for young kids to try to qualify, play & gain experience. However, in most countries, they wouldn’t be legally able to sign a contract with a team or receive cash prizes, etc. Hopefully, it doesn’t open the door to predatory/reckless behavior from teams,” Jérôme Coupez, the CEO of Prodigy Agency said on social media.

Others have taken the opportunity to muse about the idea of 13 year olds taking over the esport and pushing the league forward even more.

“13 years old?! We are all cooked. The young prodigies are about to take over,” Rocket League streamer and pro Josh ‘Comp’ Byrne said.

Another wrinkle to the announcement is the fact that the RLCS is in the middle of its off-season and the announcement could change how some teams are recruiting for the next season to Rocket League esports.

Whether teams will take advantage of the new rule, or will even be able to legally sign players that young, has yet to be seen.

Regardless of whether this move is a good idea for Rocket League esports, most fans and players agree that if this change goes through and teams sign even younger pros, the scene is going to get more immature than it already is.

“Really hot take but I personally think that the age for rlcs should be 18 or over. the sheer amount of drama and immaturity (especially prodigies) that the RL scene has is already bad enough and now we have people who are still in middle school competing? Get ready for immaturity,” one fan said.

Information on when the league is going to start in 2024 has not been revealed, but if it continues on the same timeline as 2023 then the RLCS regional leagues will kick off sometime in May.