Rocket League‘s gameplay is largely the same as that of its predecessor, Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars. Players control a rocket-powered car and use it to hit a ball that is much larger than the cars towards the other team’s goal area to score goals, in a way that resembles indoor soccer, with elements reminiscent of a demolition derby.[1][2] Players’ cars have the ability to hop to hit the ball while in mid-air. Updates in 2024 introduced new features that allow players to view the remaining boost amount of their teammates, and how much time was remaining on the game clock when specific comments were made in the chat.[3]
Matches are usually five minutes long, with a sudden death overtime if the game is tied at that point.[4] Matches can be played from between one-on-one up to four-on-four players, as well as in casual and ranked playlists.[5] The latter serves as Rocket League‘s competitive online mode, where players compete in various tiered ranks within game seasons, with victories or losses raising or lowering a player’s rank, respectively.[6] The game includes a single-player Season mode, with the player competing with computer-controlled players. An update in December 2016 introduced Custom Training sequences that can be created by players and shared with others on the same platform. Players are able to specify the ball’s path and the presence and skill of opponents on the field, which enables them to practice specific shots or maneuvers.[7]
A few months after it was released, Psyonix released an update that added game modes known as mutators, modifying some aspects of gameplay, such as increased or decreased gravity, ball size, ball speed and bounciness.[8] For the 2015 holiday season, another update replaced mutator matches with an ice hockey-inspired mode (called Snow Day), played on an ice rink and the ball replaced with a hockey puck with different physics.[9] Positive reception to the ice hockey mode led to it being extended for a few weeks after the holiday season. Snow Day was permanently added to the mutator settings for private matches and exhibition games on February 10, 2016.[10][11] Hoops, a game mode based on basketball,[12][13][14] was added on April 25, 2016.[15] A separate Rumble mode, which incorporates unusual power-ups, such as the ability to freeze the ball in place or cause a single opponent to have difficulty controlling their car, was added on September 8, 2016.[16] An update in December 2016, known as Starbase ARC and based on Psyonix’ mobile game ARC Squadron,[17] added support for custom arenas for Windows players supported through Steam Workshop, along with other new content.[18]
A new game mode, Dropshot, was added in a March 2017 update. It takes place in an arena without any goals and a field made of hexagonal tiles, and uses a ball that becomes increasingly electrified after successful strikes or passes. The more the ball is struck by players without touching the ground the more electrified it becomes, and the more tiles it damages once it finally does hit the ground. The goal of the mode is to damage the opponent’s floor enough to break a hole into it, allowing the ball to drop through and score. When a team scores, the floor on the opponent’s side of the field resets to normal, while the floor on the scoring team’s side retains any existing damage.[19][20]
This mechanic is called the “flip reset”.
Psyonix also released a number of limited-time modes for the game. Spike Rush, released as part of the Radical Summer event in 2019, resembles rugby. The spikes power-up will attach the ball to a player’s vehicle once it is touched. Players must avoid contacting any opposing player as it results in instant demolition.[21] In celebration of Super Bowl LV in February 2021, Psyonix released a limited time gamemode called Gridiron, which functions similar to gridiron football with the normal soccer ball being replaced by a football.[22] A new game mode was added called Knockout was added in 2022. It is played Free-For-All, without teams, in a set of newly added arenas that have no goals. The object of the mode is to knock opponents into Hazards, features that destroy the player on contact, in order to take away one of three lives. This can be achieved using the three actions the player can take, Attack, Block, and Grab, operating similarly to Rock, Paper, and Scissors respectively in Rock Paper Scissors. After a 6 minutes, if a winner has not yet been decided by being the only remaining player with one or more lives, the match enters Sudden KO mode, where all actions are much more powerful and exiting a safe zone around the map removes a life.[23]
As part of a means to monetize the game beyond downloadable content, Psyonix has tried a few different approaches. In September 2016, it introduced a loot box system known as Crates, where players could purchase them with a random selection of in-game customization items, opened through the purchase of Keys using real-world funds.[16] Due to increasing governmental concern over loot boxes, Psyonix replaced the Crates system with Blueprints in December 2019, which offer a known specific item with potential modifiers as potential end-of-match drops.[24] These Blueprints can then be crafted using the game’s new premium currency (Credits),[25] or purchased with real-world funds, if the player so chooses.[26][27] A new rotating Item Shop was introduced in December 2019 as well, with Featured items available on a 48-hour timer and Daily items on a 24-hour timer. The Item Shop includes all types of in-game items, such as Painted Cars, Exotic Wheels, Goal Explosions, and many more. Each item has a listed Credit value that will show the item’s cost, allowing players to purchase the exact item they want, instead of relying on RNG to attain a specific item previously available through loot boxes.[28] Separately, Psyonix added a battle pass feature to the game in September 2018, known as the Rocket Pass. Each pass, which lasts a few months, has challenges and other opportunities through playing Rocket League that allow players to increase the tier of the Pass, from which new unique customization options tied to that pass can be unlocked. While the Rocket Pass is free to all players, a flat-cost premium option that accelerates the level up rate and unlocks additional items at certain tier levels can be purchased.