Rocket League has been one of the major success stories of indie gaming since it launched five years ago in 2015. According to a tweet by developer Psyonix co-head, that success has continued now that Rocket League has gone free to play.
Once a game goes free to play, the idea of tracking sales numbers goes out the window. But of course, the developer usually finds ways to continue to make a profit through in-game transactions, battle passes, etc. For Psyonix, the hope is that the move to go free-to-play will bring in more players, and that's exactly what has happened as Rocket League recently hit 1 million concurrent players.
The move to free-to-play hasn't been all sunshine and roses, as Rocket League saw server issues with the additional players. Of course, Psyonix would prefer a smooth transfer, but if the change has a couple of hiccups to come along with 1 million players, the developer probably thinks it was worth it.
With the change to being free, Rocket League has reset with Season One (even though the game had previously gone through many seasons). The reset sees a free and $10 battle pass that players can progress through, much like fellow free-to-play game Fortnite.
Epic Games bought Psyonix last year, and this eventual transition to being free must have been a part of the plan. Rocket League has also now seen Fortnite crossovers, as the massive battle royale is also published by Epic Games.
Technically speaking, this isn't the first time Rocket League was "free," as it burst onto the gaming scene in 2015 as a PlayStation Plus free title. The developer of Fall Guys attempted to recreate the success of Rocket League as a game that launched on the PS Plus platform, and it certainly did so. After continuing to do well for five years, the total transition to being a free title has seemed thus far to be a smart choice for Rocket League.
Rocket League is now free-to-play for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.