Is Rocket League still popular?

It's hard to believe Rocket League, one of the most popular multiplayer games in the world, is nearly seven years old. July 2022 will mark the seventh anniversary of the acclaimed car football game.

Over the last few years, developer Psyonix has added new cars, modes, and themed events to keep us coming back, with the Lucky Lanterns 2022 event expected to start soon. But with no sequel on the horizon, is Rocket League still popular?

Is Rocket League still popular?

Despite launching in July 2015, Rocket League is still incredibly popular. Initially, Rocket League was only available on PS4, but the car football game is now available on other platforms including PC, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch. It’s only natural, then, that the player base has increased significantly over the years.

In July 2020, Psyonix announced that Rocket League surpassed 75 million players, just five years after it launched. It’s a staggering feat, especially as Rocket League started as an indie game. However, this doesn’t mean that all those players are still playing Rocket League.

Since Rocket League is available on so many different platforms, it’s difficult to determine an exact player count. However, the most recent data from ActivePlayer estimates that Rocket League was played by an average 97,055,144 players in December 2021. Impressively, that’s an increase of 11,933,08 players compared to December 2020, indicating that Rocket League is still very popular.      

According to the same data, Rocket League was also played by a maximum of 5,724,864 players in a day in December 2021, up from 5,151,710 players in December 2020. Not bad at all for a game that came out seven years ago.

Even the Rocket League Sideswipe mobile spin-off is already dominating the downloads chart, with over 20 million downloads within the first 40 days.

Why is Rocket League still so popular?

Simplicity and accessibility are the keys to Rocket League’s enduring success.

Gameplay in Rocket League is simple. It’s literally a game of car football. Players compete in teams controlling rocket-powered cars to hit a giant ball into the opponent's net. It’s easy to pick up and play for casual players, but there’s enough depth in the ball physics and car controls to keep you hooked.

Rocket League is also free-to-play on all platforms, so it’s widely accessible. While it’s free-to-play, you can buy additional customisation items through microtransactions.

Not only is Rocket League free-to-play, but it also has cross-platform support. Rocket League supports cross-platform play across PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, enabling players from all platforms to play online together.

What’s next for Rocket League?

Could we get a Rocket League 2? Well, Psyonix has no plans for a sequel. But with Season 5 ending in March, Season six should launch soon with more new content. We also expect the Lucky Lanterns event to return in 2022 with new game modes and Lunar New Year-themed items.