In the videogame business, staffers do the most important jobs while outside labor comes and goes. The surprise US hit game ‘Rocket League’ shows how contractors are changing the world of work.

Rocket League pits jet-powered racecars against one another in an antic soccer match. The big winner is creator Psyonix Inc., which has just 81 employees yet has amassed more than 29 million players in less than two years.

“The smaller we can be, the better,” says Chief Executive Dave Hagewood, even though relying on contractors means less control over the speed and quality of the work needed to keep Rocket League humming.