Rocket League is soon going free-to-play on all platforms, but there is an added bonus coming to Switch and PS4 players. The car soccer game will also not require a PlayStation Plus or Nintendo Switch Online subscription in order to play online, eliminating another big barrier. Sorry, Xbox players. You’ll still need Xbox Live Gold.
Psyonix revealed this in a blog post explaining the game’s next season, rank, and cross-platform progression. It’s in the miscellaneous section at the bottom, and plainly states that “PlayStation Plus on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch Online will no longer be required for online play on those platforms.”
This is great news for people planning to take their Rocket League experiences to other platforms they may not have a subscription to. Cross-platform progression is a big part of the game’s next update so having your stuff while also not needing to pay for another subscription makes it easier to go to another system, even just for a bit. This is a bit ironic since Rocket League was such a bit hit partly because of PlayStation Plus. Also since it’s still unclear (but entirely likely) if a possible unannounced PS5 version would have the same stipulations.
Psyonix gave no exact date for when the free-to-play update is going live. However, the developer said it will go up after the cross-platform progression update. That update will come out “in the next few weeks around mid September.”
Other parts of the update are designed to also help out newer players. There will be an even easier mode, a more in-depth tutorial, additional quick chat options, and opt-in instead of opt-out. The seasonal changes to ranks and such are there to satisfy more hardcore players, but these friendlier options work directly with the game going free-to-play and opening itself up to a whole new audience.
