Originally revealed last year as a first-person shooter, Rocket Arena has morphed into a third-person hero-shooter that, based on the EA Play trailer, is brimming with personality. The game is set to launch in just a couple of days, and so Final Strike Games has released a live service roadmap that gives fans an idea of what they can expect from the Rocket Arena season 1 content and beyond.
Rocket Arena season 1 will begin on July 28, exactly two weeks after the game's launch on July 14. Rocket Arena season 1 will focus primarily on establishing the game's roster of playable characters and explain their motivations behind wanting to win the Rocket Championship Tour Trophy. Season 1 will also add a brand new character to the mix named Flux (who will be free to all players), introduce the first in-game event, add new maps, and task players with completing a variety of daily and weekly challenges. The developers have promised that there will be at least 10 new playlists added during Rocket Arena season 1 as well, spread out across its various game modes.
Like many other live service games, Rocket Arena will be utilizing a battle pass system, or in this case, a "Blast Pass." Each season will be delivering new heroes, maps, limited-time modes, and a new Blast Pass for players to complete. The Rocket Arena Blast Pass will function the same as battle passes in other games, meaning players will be able to unlock a slew of cosmetic content from it, and completing the Battle Pass will leave them with enough in-game currency to purchase the next one.
Final Strike Games and Electronic Arts have confirmed that each season in Rocket Arena will last for about three months at a time. Rocket Arena season 2 is expected to start this fall, whereas season 3 will be kicking off early 2021. More specific details on those seasons should come to light in the months ahead, but for now, fans can expect the Rocket Arena team to be focusing primarily on ensuring that season 1 is a success.
It will be interesting to see if Rocket Arena is able to generate a significant following without being free-to-play, however. Many games with the live service model, like Fortnite, have gone free-to-play to ensure that it is accessible to a much larger audience. Strong reviews and good word of mouth could still help Rocket Arena's online multiplayer community grow, but that remains to be seen. With the game set to launch in just a couple of days, it will be interesting to see how many players flock to its online arenas.
Rocket Arena launches on July 14 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.