Rocket League Won't Require Nintendo Switch And PlayStation 4 Online Memberships

Developer Pysonix has confirmed that once its soccar game Rocket League goes free-to-play later this summer it won't require online memberships on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 systems.

A patch for Rocket League will be arriving "around mid-September," with the free-to-play update following "shortly after." While an exact date for when Rocket League will go free-to-play has not been disclosed yet, Psyonix made it clear that Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 players will not need active NSO and PS Plus subscriptions in order to participate in online matches against other competitors. This is just one of the many changes coming to Rocket League once it's free-to-play.

Some other adjustments include the addition of a new difficulty for bots, the removal of the Solo Standard Playlist following Competitive Season 14's conclusion, Heatseeker being playable in private matches, tweaks to Rocket ID friends and Quick Chats, and more.

Psyonix is also consolidating many of Rocket League's offerings--Competitive Seasons, Rocket Pass, and Competitive Tournaments--into one Season that will all follow the same schedule and kicks off once the game goes free-to-play. Much like battle passes in other live service games such as Apex Legends and Fortnite, once one season of Rocket League ends, so too will that season's Competitive Season and Rocket Pass. This is to streamline Rocket League's content across the board so it's all easier to track.

In addition to changes to Rocket League's competitive offerings, Pysonix is also adding some new ranks to Rocket League. The current, highest-achievable rank, Grand Champion, will be split into three different ranks--Grand Champion 1, Grand Champion 2, and Grand Champion 3. Psyonix said current Grand Champions will "likely be placed in Grand Champion 1 (depending on placement matches)" so that it can make way for the newest, highest-achievable rank: Supersonic Legend. (No, not Sonic the Hedgehog.) Further, once Rocket League goes free-to-play and these changes are implemented, players will be required to reach Level 10 in order to participate in Rocket League's Ranked Playlists.

Finally, as part of bringing Rocket League into the hands of new players once it goes free-to-play, Psyonix will be introducing a brand-new tutorial experience for players to get used to the game's mechanics and HUD. Players will also have New Driver Challenges to unlock items that were featured in the base version of the game, though Psyonix didn't extrapolate on these unlockables.

If you're curious about what happens to your progress once Rocket League goes free-to-play, Psyonix has detailed how cross-platform progression will work, clarifying that players will need an Epic Games Account to transfer their data.

In other Rocket League news, players are getting creative and mashing the soccar game with rhythm-em-up Beat Saber to create an unlikely pairing that's bizarre and satisfying.