Rocket League: how the game's overnight success was a decade in the making

Psyonix's combination of football, motor racing and combat has attracted 20m players. Yet the online sports game's surprise achievement is built on years of hard work

"What a Save!" The words echo long after the desperate lunge that sent a wide shot into the top corner of the stadium. Rocket League: light of so many lives, killer of free time. This beautiful video game seems, like everything that appears perfect, to have arrived fully-formed.

While some things take time to appreciate, Rocket League hits you like a boosted dumper truck. Developed by San Diego-based studio Psyonix, it is a game that hooks within seconds and, hundreds of hours later, keeps getting better. Imagine football played by blisteringly fast, flight-capable cars and you're pretty much there. Since release, the game has attracted over 20 million players, and has just seen its first world cup tournament - over 20,000 people took part. But behind the overnight success lie several false starts and, to channel Alan Hansen, a decade of grit and determination.