Free-To-Play 'Rocket League' No Longer Requires PS Plus, Nintendo Switch Online

As vehicular soccer multiplayer sensation “Rocket League” makes the transition to a free-to-play title, some changes are going to be happening. One of the biggest changes occurring is that the game will no longer require a subscription to PlayStation Plus on PlayStation 4 or Nintendo Switch Online to play it online.

Given that both Sony and Nintendo have made exceptions for free-to-play games in the form of “Warframe” and “Fortnite” in the past, this move should not come as such a shocker. Neither of the aforementioned popular games requires paid subscriptions to be enjoyed by gamers online.

This is not a standard across all platforms, though, as Microsoft still requires an Xbox Live Gold subscription to play free-to-play games on Xbox. All things considered; Polygon notes that this is still good news for newcomers who might want to experience “Rocket League” without paying for a subscription.

First released for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 4 in July 2015, “Rocket League” was later given ports on the Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. The game typically has up to eight players assigned to each of the two teams and use rocket-powered vehicles to hit a ball into their opponent’s goal and score over the duration of a match.

“Rocket League” developer Psyonix outlined this development in a blog post, as well as other changes coming including a new-player experience.

A new tutorial will “put new players right on the field, and will teach the basic HUD and button layout,” Psyonix said. “New players will also have New Driver Challenges to unlock items that were included in the base version of 'Rocket League.'”

New competitive ranks are also being introduced in “Rocket League.” There will be three levels of Grand Champion rank and a new highest competitive rank, Supersonic Legend in addition to a streamlined seasonal schedule.

Expect an update to “Rocket League” by mid-September to be followed by the launch of free-to-play following shortly after according to Psyonix.

The developer announced the transition of “Rocket League” to free-to-play this past July and weeks later, confirmed that the title is leaving Steam for the Epic Games Store instead.