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 jump to hit the ball while in mid-air. The players can also pick up a speed boost by passing their cars over marked spaces on the field, enabling them to quickly cross the field, use the added momentum to hit the ball, or ram into another player's car to destroy it; in the latter case, the destroyed car respawns moments later on their team's side of the field. A player may also use a boost when in the air to propel themselves forward in flight, allowing players to hit the ball in the air. Players can alter their car's orientation while midair, which combined with midair boosting allows for controlled flight. Players can also perform quick dodges, causing their car to do a short jump and spin in a given direction, which can be used to nudge the ball or gain positioning advantage over the other team.[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 as to practice specific shots-on-goal over and over.[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, was added on April 26, 2016.[12][13][14][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" (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] 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.
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. Once a team scores, the floor on that side of the field resets to normal (while the floor on the scoring team's side retains any existing damage).[19][20]
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.[21] These Blueprints can then be crafted using the game's new premium currency (Credits),[22] or purchased with real-world funds, if the player so chooses.[23][24] 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.[25] 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 can be purchased which accelerates the level up rate and unlocks additional items at certain tier levels.