Rocket League is going free to play and leaving Steam for the Epic Games Store

Great pass!

Credit: Psyonix

Rocket League, the multiplayer soccer game played with rocket-powered cars, took the world by storm over the last few years, complete with proper esports leagues and world championships. This summer, it’ll take yet another step toward total supremacy by going free to play—though you won’t be able to download it from Steam anymore once that transition happens.

First, the game news. The core Rocket League experience will remain the same, Psyonix says, though the developer intends to touch up the main menus “to make exploring the game easier.” Psyonix also plans to refine and improve game modes like Tournaments and Challenges, as well as introduce cross-platform progression so you can start shooting goals with the same account no matter what hardware you’re playing on at any given time. Yay!

That cross-platform progression also helps soften the blow of another major shift. Epic Games acquired Psyonix in 2019. When Rocket League goes free-to-play this summer, the Steam version of the game will disappear, while the game will appear on the Epic Games Store for the first time. Rocket League on Steam will continue to be supported with updates and new features—new users just won’t be able to download it there. Here’s what Psyonix has to say:

Rocket League will release on the Epic Games Store on PC the same time it goes free to play. This version of the game will be identical to the version found on other platforms, and will feature cross-platform play anywhere you play Rocket League, including between the Epic Games Store and Steam.

Once Rocket League goes free to play, anyone who already owns Rocket League on any platform (including Steam) will be able to play and enjoy the game with full support for future updates and features. However, the Steam version will no longer be available to download for new players. To put it simply, wherever you play now (including Steam), you’ll still be able to play in the future.”

That’s a pretty reasonable way to handle a transition to the Epic Games Store, all things considered.

If you played Rocket League before the free-to-play switch, you’ll be granted “Legacy” status, which grants you access to all Rocket League-branded DLC released when it was a paid game, over 200 common items upgraded to “Legacy” quality, some cosmetic swag like the “Golden Cosmos Boost” shown at the top of this page, and more.

There’s no hard date for the free-to-play transition, but it’s should be soon, given that it’s touted as coming this summer. In the meantime, if you haven’t bought Rocket League yet, well, you’ve been missing out—but consider waiting a few more weeks until you can pick it up at no cost. It’ll be a no-brainer inclusion on our list of the best free PC games once it happens.

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Brad Chacos

Brad Chacos

PC World (US online)
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