After amassing a whopping 75 million player community, Rocket League is going free-to-play this summer. Following the acquisition by Epic Games, Rocket League’s release on the Epic Games Store will coincide with the free update. The game will no longer be available for download on Steam, but anyone who already owns the game can continue playing on that platform. Players will be able to keep all current Rocket League items when the game goes free to play on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
Developers Psyonix are promising updated tournaments, a revamped challenge system, and legacy status for anyone who has played Rocket League online before the launch of free to play. All past Rocket League-branded DLCs, custom titles, and upgrades for common items will be granted to anyone who received legacy status. Free items will continue to be available, but all of Psyonix’s income will now come directly from the Rocket Pass and DLC.
Considering how successful Fortnite has been for Epic Games, it’s no surprise that Rocket League is following suit. While 75 million players is an incredibly impressive number, it still falls short of Fortnite’s reported 350 million accounts. In August of 2018, Epic reported that they had 78.3 million logging in that month, and there were 12.3 million concurrent players during Travis Scott’s in-game concert in April of this year. Earlier this year, Rocket League hit its highest peak player count, at around half a million. Comparing that to Fortnite’s astronomical numbers, and how Epic Games is very familiar with how much players spend on battle passes, making Rocket League free-to-play only gives more opportunity for extra income.
Play Rocket League Anywhere With an Epic Games Account
Implementing cross-play and cross-progression in Rocket League is another reason why the free-to-play route makes so much sense. People are far more likely to play a game online if they’re able to play with their friends, and console preferences can get in the way of that. Considering the game will already be free, younger people playing with their friends are likely to spend more money on some cool cosmetics. This is also an opportunity to coerce players to create an Epic Games account, which could convince several to buy more games on the client.
In order to receive legacy status, players must log in to Rocket League after July 21st but before the game goes free to play, including anyone who buys the game between now and then. All platforms will be cross-play, so anyone on Steam can still play with new Epic Games users. Psyonix hasn't revealed whether Rocket League will be coming to other platforms, such as next-gen consoles or mobile, but the free-to-play update makes that far more likely. A release date for the update has not been announced.