Eight years of competitive history, hundreds of players, and one of the most dedicated communities in indie game esports.
Rivals of Aether is an indie platform fighter developed by Dan Fornace. Launching on Steam Early Access in March 2016, it drew inspiration from the Smash Bros. series while carving its own identity with unique mechanics like fire, water, earth, and air elemental characters. Its tight netcode and mod-friendly design helped build one of the most passionate communities in the genre.
The Rivals Competitive Series (RCS) organized the scene's official competitive circuit across 8 seasons from 2016 to 2024. Events ranged from weekly online brackets in the early days to massive 600+ entrant online majors and prestigious offline events like Riptide, Genesis, and EVO. The circuit maintained consistent ranking systems season after season.
Over 400 competitors have been officially ranked across all seasons. The scene produced legendary players like CakeAssault — universally regarded as the GOAT with 5 championship seasons — alongside enduring stalwarts like Penguin (ranked all 8 seasons), FullStream (the original champion), and rising stars like Soulrifle211 who capped the era with a Genesis X victory.
From a humble 88-player weekly in October 2016 to 650-entrant online majors, the Rivals of Aether scene grew organically into something remarkable. It weathered the COVID-19 pandemic (birthing the online-only ROCS circuit), survived multiple meta upheavals, and concluded its competitive run at Genesis X in February 2024 — eight full years after it began.