As everyone’s favourite car-football crossover transitions into a free-to-play title, developer Psyonix has confirmed that players won’t require a subscription to PS Plus or Switch online to play the game online.
In a blog post the developer said they wanted new players to have the best possible experience when picking up the game for the first time.
“When people pick up Rocket League for the first time following the launch of free to play, we want to make sure they’re as comfortable as possible once they hit the field. That’s why there will be a new experience for new players when they first fire up the game. The new tutorial will put new players right on the field, and will teach the basic HUD and button layout. New players will also have New Driver Challenges to unlock items that were included in the base version of Rocket League.”
The news doesn’t come as a huge surprise, as Sony and Nintendo make exceptions for free-to-play games when it comes to subscriptions.
New ranks that are coming to the game were also detailed in the blog.
“Starting with the launch of free to play, a new rank is being added above the current Grand Champion Rank.
“Grand Champion will be split into three different Ranks just like the ranks below it. Grand Champion will be split into Grand Champion 1, Grand Champion 2, and Grand Champion 3. Current Grand Champions will likely be placed in Grand Champion 1 (depending on placement matches). Then begins the journey to the new highest competitive rank: Supersonic Legend.
“Both Grand Champion and Supersonic Legend will have their own Season Rewards at the end of Season 1, as well as Rank-specific Titles. MMR will still be displayed in the Playlist menu once you hit Grand Champion 1.”
Rocket League updates are expected to roll out in the next couple of weeks, with the launch of free-to-play coming shortly after.