Psyonix, the San Diego-based developer has announced that their hugely popular title, Rocket League, will be going free to play later this summer.
The developer addressed the change in a blog post, stating:
“After nearly five years, millions of players, and billions of soccar matches played, it’s time to talk about the next chapter of Rocket League. The game wouldn’t be where it is today without our dedicated and amazing community. Today, we’re excited to announce that we’re gearing up to make that community even bigger. Beginning later this summer, Rocket League is going free to play!
“The free to play update will be the largest update the game has seen so far, and will include major changes to the Tournaments and Challenge systems. It will also add cross-platform progression for players’ item inventory, Rocket Pass progress, and Competitive Rank, by linking to an Epic Games Account. “
Upon going free to play, the game will also make its debut on the Epic Games Store. It will be identical to the version on other platforms and will feature cross-platform play with all Rocket League platforms.
Once the free to play update is out, previous owners of the game on any platform (excluding Steam) will be able to play the game with full support for future updates and features. However, the Steam version will no longer be available to download for new players.
Users who have played Rocket League prior to going free to play will be rewarded with Legacy status, which includes all Rocket League-branded DLC released before free to play, Est. 20XX” title that displays the year when the player first started playing Rocket League, 200+ Common items upgraded to “Legacy” quality, Golden Cosmos Boost, Dieci-Oro Wheels and a Huntress Player Banner.
Previous players will also receive an extra item, the Faded Cosmos Boost. These items will be awarded to player accounts when the game goes free to play.
Further information will be revealed in the coming weeks, including specifics on the changes to the Tournament and Challenge systems.