Video games can be serious business, and many developers have discovered that shaking up the multiplayer with new features or mechanics can spark a riot amongst their rabid fan base. That is why Rocket League developer Psyonix Inc has announced a new game mode called Rocket Labs, which will allow the studio to test out creative new maps in a safe space outside of the standard competitive game mode.

Rocket League is an incredibly popular competitive indie game that plays like something of a bizarre cross between a destruction derby and soccer. In Rocket League, up to eight players (two teams of four) face off against each other in an acrobatic soccer battle as each team tries to bounce a giant ball into the opposing team’s goal.

The game maps are full of ramps and obstacles that players can take advantage of, and having an intricate knowledge of the layout of each map is an important aspect of Rocket League’s meta game. That means that any new maps added can greatly change the structure of the game, which gives Psyonix a good incentive to test out their map ideas before they fully roll them out to the standard game.

Rocket Labs is designed to ensure that unpopular maps will not make the cut, so Psyonix can deftly avoid angering their entire player base.

“Rocket Labs is meant to continue our dialogue with the [Rocket League] community as new and wildly different arenas are released and the best of the bunch will receive full art treatments!” Psyonix wrote on Facebook.

The new game mode will arrive with Rocket League’s upcoming “Season 2” update, which will arrive at the end of this month. The update will coincide with the game’s release on Xbox One and will include new competitive ranks and a few tweaks to the way matchmaking works.

Image courtesy of Psyonix Inc