Rocket League is going free-to-play soon and developer Psyonix plans to make things even easier for prospective players as PS Plus and Nintendo Switch Online will no longer be required to play the game on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. Other changes can be expected prior to the free-to-play launch as well including an update to your Rocket ID friends list and voice chat being disabled by default.
PS Plus and Nintendo Switch Online will no longer be required to play Rocket League
© Psyonix
In a new blog post, Rocket League developer Psyonix outlined some of the changes that are in the works prior to the game going free-to-play. The team doesn’t have an exact release date yet for the update and the free-to-play launch of Rocket League, only that they’re expected to drop around mid to late September.
With the update comes some major changes to Rocket League, namely the fact that players won’t need PS Plus or Nintendo Switch Online in order to play the game on PS4 and Nintendo Switch. This news is huge as it’ll make the game even more monetarily accessible in addition to the game being free-to-play on all platforms.
The blog post goes over how Competitive Seasons, Competitive Tournaments, and Rocket Pass will now follow the same schedule once Season 1 begins following the free-to-play launch and how there will be new competitive ranks.
Other things of note include the following:
PlayStation Plus on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch Online will no longer be required for online play on those platforms.
Rocket ID Will Become Epic Friends:
- When the update goes live, your Rocket ID friends list will become the Epic Friends list. Friends you had through Rocket ID will transfer to Epic Friends, and any friends you currently have through your Epic Games Account will be visible in Rocket League.
New Quick Chats:
- Faking.
- Bumping!
- On your left.
- On your right.
- Passing!
- Default settings are changing for incoming players. Voice Chat will be disabled by default, and L2 (PS4), LT (Xbox), ZL (Switch) will default to Air Roll.
- Heatseeker will be playable in private matches.
- New bot difficulty under Rookie.
- Merc is getting a new, unique hitbox, for a total of six hitbox types.
- Rocket League X Monstercat remixes of fan favorite songs will be added celebrating the music's legacy throughout the years.
- Solo Standard Playlist will be removed following Competitive Season 14.
Overall, we’re really looking forward to the update to Rocket League and the game’s free-to-play launch in a few weeks (hopefully). There’s no concrete release date yet, only a goal of mid to late September. While we wait for the free-to-play launch of Rocket League, what are your thoughts hearing that the game will no longer require PS Plus and Nintendo Switch Online? Let us know down in the comments below!