Rocket League has been around for quite a while now, and while the game does have a lot of potential, it hasn’t managed to make it that big in the eSports scene. Part of the reason is the game’s high skill ceiling. However, with the game going free to play next week, it is expected that it will have good things to look forward to in the near future.

Just before the game becomes free to play, Psyonix has released a major update to prepare it for the overhaul. Players can now link their platform-specific accounts to the Epic Games Store in order to transfer their progression across devices. The game is also now playable without a Nintendo Switch Online subscription.

Apart from that, there are numerous bug fixes and various quality of life changes. You can find the complete patch notes below.

EPIC GAMES ACCOUNT AND CROSS-PLATFORM PROGRESSION

Progression and Account Linking

  • You can now link each platform you play Rocket League to a single Epic Games Account to share progression, inventory, Rocket Pass progress, Competitive Rank, and more everywhere you playFor progression data, you will select a Primary Platform to progress everywhere. If you’re Level 1000 and Champion II on PC, and Level 500 and Diamond III on your console, you’ll want to pick your PC profile as your PrimaryWe strongly recommend you link every account you play at the same time so you can make an informed choice when selecting your Primary PlatformFor more information, please read our blog post on Cross-Platform ProgressionPlayers who linked their existing Rocket League platforms to an Epic Games Account will also receive the ‘Chopper EG’ Wheels

Epic Friends

  • Epic Friends have replaced RocketID as the solution for cross-platform friends in Rocket LeagueYour RocketID friends will be automatically converted into Epic Friends on your first login.The In-Game Friends List has been updated to display both your platform friends and your Epic Friends in one panel for easier access

Legacy Status

  • If you played Rocket League before the free to play update was released, you have Legacy statusLegacy status includes special loyalty reward items, including a Boost, Wheel, Banner, and a special Title that commemorates the year your account was created:‘Faded Cosmos’ Boost (limited to accounts created prior to July 21)‘Golden Cosmos’ Boost‘Dieci-Oro’ Wheel‘Huntress’ Player Banner‘Est. 20XX’ TitleLegacy status holders also get special “Legacy” quality versions of every Common item available before the free to play changeover, as well as access to all non-licensed DLC items

Player-to-Player Trading

  • ‘Faded Cosmos’ Boost (limited to accounts created prior to July 21)‘Golden Cosmos’ Boost‘Dieci-Oro’ Wheel‘Huntress’ Player Banner‘Est. 20XX’ Title

  • Trading with another player now requires a linked Epic Games AccountTrading with another player now requires both accounts to have purchased 500 Credits or equivalent (Esports Tokens, Starter Pack, etc.) to deter fraud. Players with Legacy status are exempt from this requirement

NEW PLAYER EXPERIENCE

  • Players new to Rocket League with this update will see a new interactive intro cinematic, as well as special guidance when navigating the in-game menusNew players will need to reach Level 10 before they can matchmake in Competitive Playlists

TOURNAMENTS

NOTE: The new Tournaments system will be live with this release, but only a limited number of test Tournaments will be scheduled until we transition Rocket League to free to play.

  • Players with Legacy status are exempt from this requirement

  • The Tournaments system has been redesigned and now offers automated Competitive Tournaments at set times per day, per regionWhile you can still sign up with a full party, Competitive Tournament matchmaking will attempt to find you a team if you can’t join with a full groupMixed-Rank parties will be placed in a Tournament based on the Rank of the highest-skill playerPlaying at your skill – even if you lose! – is always more efficient than winning at a lower RankTeams knocked out of the tournament in the first round may be able to re-join during a ‘late joiner’ roundLeaving a Tournament early may lead to temporary matchmaking and Tournament bans on your accountIf your entire team forfeits, no bans will be issuedEarn rewards over the course of each season by defeating opponents of similar skillYou’ll earn Tournament Credits based on your final placement in each Tournament combined with the difficulty of the overall bracket you were seeded intoThe Tournament Credit reward is the same for all teammatesTournament Credits can be redeemed to get Cups that will grant you a customization item of escalating qualityThe higher level the Cup, the more often you’ll unlock an item of higher rarityAll Tournament items can have special attributes like Painted or CertifiedThese prizes can be traded in within their series, all the way up to Black MarketYou can play in as many tournaments as you want each week, but most of your earnings will come from your Top 3 Weekly Placements, which reset at the end of each week on SundayWinning a Tournament earns you a Title that shows off the Rank of the Tournament you won.Winning three similarly ranked tournaments throughout a season will grant you a colored Title at that Rank.Players are still able to create and host their own Custom TournamentsKnocked out of the Tournament you’re hosting? You’ll be able to spectate the remaining matches

  • The Main Menu has been streamlined to reduce the number of buttons and better organize featuresPlay Submenu: Modes are now grouped into cards instead of tabsSelecting a Playlist will now immediately search that playlist For players who prefer to search multiple playlists at once, you can enable “Multiple Selection” within any of the Playlist groups. This setting is saved so you won’t have to toggle it each time you search.You can now quickly jump into Free Play or the Garage after searchingTraining is now accessible directly from the Play menuExhibition, Season Mode, and Private Match have been combined into the “Custom Games” cardThe Profile Submenu now contains:Career (Stats, Leaderboards, Rankings)ReplaysCreate or Manage ClubBanner and Avatar Border customization optionsThe Extras Submenu is now found under Options – ExtrasThe appearance of the Main Menu and some submenus have been updated with new font and button/card designs

CHANGES AND UPDATES

Item Changes

  • If your entire team forfeits, no bans will be issued

  • You’ll earn Tournament Credits based on your final placement in each Tournament combined with the difficulty of the overall bracket you were seeded intoThe Tournament Credit reward is the same for all teammatesTournament Credits can be redeemed to get Cups that will grant you a customization item of escalating qualityThe higher level the Cup, the more often you’ll unlock an item of higher rarityAll Tournament items can have special attributes like Painted or CertifiedThese prizes can be traded in within their series, all the way up to Black MarketYou can play in as many tournaments as you want each week, but most of your earnings will come from your Top 3 Weekly Placements, which reset at the end of each week on SundayWinning a Tournament earns you a Title that shows off the Rank of the Tournament you won.Winning three similarly ranked tournaments throughout a season will grant you a colored Title at that Rank.

  • The higher level the Cup, the more often you’ll unlock an item of higher rarityAll Tournament items can have special attributes like Painted or CertifiedThese prizes can be traded in within their series, all the way up to Black Market

  • Winning three similarly ranked tournaments throughout a season will grant you a colored Title at that Rank.

  • Knocked out of the Tournament you’re hosting? You’ll be able to spectate the remaining matches

  • Selecting a Playlist will now immediately search that playlist For players who prefer to search multiple playlists at once, you can enable “Multiple Selection” within any of the Playlist groups. This setting is saved so you won’t have to toggle it each time you search.You can now quickly jump into Free Play or the Garage after searchingTraining is now accessible directly from the Play menuExhibition, Season Mode, and Private Match have been combined into the “Custom Games” card

  • Career (Stats, Leaderboards, Rankings)ReplaysCreate or Manage ClubBanner and Avatar Border customization options

  • Many items formerly classified as Common are now Uncommon or higher, and must be obtained via Drops by new players Common Items are no longer unlocked in large batches per slot by playing matches. Any player with Legacy status that had not unlocked all of these items will receive remaining items in “Legacy” qualityUncommon, Rare, and Very Rare Items no longer drop randomly after matchesSome cross-promotional items have been permanently marked as “Legacy” and can no longer be obtained by new accountsSome older ‘V1’ Engine Audio options can no longer be obtained by new accounts

Support a Creator

  • You can now support your favorite content creators by applying a Creator Code to your account in the Item Shop screenYour chosen creator will receive a percentage of your Credits spent while the code is active on your account

Default Settings Changes

  • Control Bindings are now organized into three presets – “Default”, “Legacy”, and “Custom”“Legacy” is used for all existing accounts, and uses the same controls since our 2015 Launch“Default” assigns “Air Roll” to L2/LT by default, and unbinds “Voice Chat”You can switch to “Default” or “Legacy” without losing your “Custom” bindingsVoice Chat is now disabled by default

New Hitbox

  • “Legacy” is used for all existing accounts, and uses the same controls since our 2015 Launch“Default” assigns “Air Roll” to L2/LT by default, and unbinds “Voice Chat”You can switch to “Default” or “Legacy” without losing your “Custom” bindings

  • Added a new Vehicle Preset based on the Merc carThis hitbox is both taller and narrower than the other hitboxes. Check it out and let us know what you think!

New Quick Chats

  • Informational Quick ChatsBumping!Faking.On your left.On your right.Passing!Compliment Quick ChatsNice Bump!Nice Demo!

Keyboard Aerial Safety

  • Bumping!Faking.On your left.On your right.Passing!

  • Nice Bump!Nice Demo!

  • The new “Keyboard Aerial Safety” setting prevents keyboard and mouse players from pitching down in the air while holding Throttle (W) until other inputs are recognizedWith this setting active, your car will not begin pitching down until you either pitch up, release the throttle/pitch down key, or air roll in any directionThis setting can be disabled in the Options – Controls tab

General

  • [PC] DirectX9 is no longer supportedThe Level 700 ‘Supersonic Legend’ Title has been changed to ‘Legendary Nemesis’Heatseeker is now available in Private and Local MatchesThe Solo Standard Competitive Playlist is no longer available

BUG FIXES

  • Fixed a bug preventing offending chat text from being displayed when an account is bannedAdditional performance optimizations made to the Gravity Bomb Goal ExplosionRebooting the game will no longer put the player on their oldest Car PresetTournament creators can spectate matches after leaving the tournament as a player