San Diego’s popular video game maker Psyonix acquired by ‘Fortnite’ creator Epic Games

San Diego’s indie game studio Psyonix, which makes the hugely popular soccer-racing game “Rocket League,” has been acquired by Epic Games.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed, but there’s little chance the transaction was nominal. Pysonix, which has been quietly building video games in downtown San Diego for more than a decade, struck gold with the 2015 release “Rocket League.” The game amassed millions of fans, catapulting Psyonix from a little-known indie developer to a smashing worldwide success.

“Rocket League” earned Psyonix over $110 million in the first 12 months after its launch, landing the game at the top of the best-sellers list. Since then, the game has only grown in popularity, racking up 57 million players.

The admittedly wacky video game, which can be played on PC and consoles, features sports cars playing soccer with a giant ball. The game’s cars zoom around elaborately constructed sports arenas, rocketing into the air to bump or block the ball.

Now Epic Games, a dominant player in the video game industry thanks to its blockbuster game “Fortnite,” is snatching up the local developer and putting “Rocket League” on its newly announced storefront.

Founded in 2001, Psyonix has a long history with Epic. In the early days, Psyonix was doing contract work for bigger developers, and contributed to titles in the “Gears of War” and “Unreal Tournament” franchises, as well as numerous other “Unreal Engine” games over the years.

“We’ve been working closely with Epic since the early days of Unreal Tournament, and we’ve survived changing tides as partners, so combining forces makes sense in many ways,” said Dave Hagewood, founder and studio director of Psyonix, in a statement. “The potential of what we can learn from each other and accomplish together makes us truly excited for the future.”

Psyonix currently employs 132 people at its San Diego headquarters, and the company said the team would “continue to grow as it supports the ‘Rocket League’ community.”

The PC version of “Rocket League” will come to the Epic Games store in late 2019