Rocket League announces free-to-play shift, eventual removal from Steam

Rocket League is about to go through some big changes. Following the game's fifth anniversary, developer Psyonix has announced that Rocket League is going free-to-play later this summer. Not only that, but we'll also see Psyonix implement cross-platform progression and launch the title on the Epic Games Store.

That launch on the Epic Games Store isn't a shock since Epic now owns Psyonix, but it does mean that the game will be removed from Steam once it makes the transition to free-to-play. The good news is that it will only be removed from the Steam storefront – those who already have the game in their Steam libraries will be able to continue playing the game through Steam after Rocket League makes the free-to-play switch.

So, what happens to the people who have already purchased Rocket League? Anyone who has played the game online before the free-to-play launch will be rewarded with a number of in-game goodies. Those include all of the Rocket League DLC that was released before the free-to-play transition, an "Est. 20XX" title that shows the year you started playing, "200+ Common items upgraded to 'Legacy' quality," a Golden Cosmos Boost, Dieci-Oro Wheels, and the Huntress Player Banner.

Moreover, those who played online before this announcement was made today will get the Faded Cosmos Boost. In the end, there are quite a few rewards up for grabs for current Rocket League players, and all of them will be available when the game goes free-to-play later this year.

Finally, Psyonix says that existing players will get to keep their inventory when the switch is made, on top of saying that cross-platform progression will go live when free-to-play does. That means your items, Rocket Pass progression, and Competitive Rank will carry over from platform to platform, but you'll need an Epic Games Account for that to happen. We'll keep an eye out for more information about this free-to-play change for Rocket League, and we'll let you know when we hear more, so stay tuned.