‘Rocket League’ Confirmed For Xbox One With ‘Halo’ And ‘Gears’ Cars, But Without Cross-Play

Rocket League turned into one of the surprise hits for 2015 when it was released on the PlayStation 4 and PC in July. Developer Psyonix confirmed the rocket cars meets soccer multiplayer game is bringing its mix of competitive mayhem to the Xbox One in early 2016 during The Game Awards 2015 show on Thursday night. However, it will be missing the ability to cross-play with PC owners of the game.

Psyonix is targeting a February 2016 release for Rocket League with a $19.99 price tag. The release will include the base game plus the three previously-released DLC packs: Supersonic Furty, Revenge of the Battle-Cars, and Chaos Run. Additionally, it will come with two Xbox One exclusive cars based on Halo and Gears of War. The Halo car is called the “HogSticker” and based on the ubiquitous Warthog, while Gears of War gets the “Armadillo” armored personnel carrier of the same name.

Rocket League on the Xbox One will continue to receive same future support for DLC and other items that are planned for the PS4 and PC. Additionally, Psyonix confirmed there will be exclusive customization items that will be revealed in the future.

The one DLC item not included with the Xbox One launch of Rocket League at no additional cost is the Back to the Future Car Pack. DeLorean lovers will be able to purchase that DLC pack separately upon release, presumably at the same $1.99 price it is available for on the PlayStation Store and Steam.

“Our goal with Rocket League is to continually improve, grow, and evolve the game while keeping its core fundamentals in focus,” said Dave Hagewood, Studio Director and CEO, Psyonix. “With our new Xbox One version, fans will not only get some great exclusives and a great value, but also, the kind of multiplayer gameplay that has made Rocket League a great passion for our players and for us.”

Psyonix originally teased the possibility that Rocket League was coming to the Xbox One earlier in August of this year. The independent developer focused on building for the PS4 and PC first, but was ready to expand to new platforms once the game’s unique formula took off.

The one Rocket League feature that won’t make the transition to the Xbox One is support for cross-play. Psyonix confirmed this bit of news via Twitter in response to fan questions following The Video Game Awards 2015 announcement.

@rlpte The Xbox platform doesn’t allow for crossplay matchmaking between other systems as a general practice across all titles.

— Rocket League (@RocketLeague) December 4, 2015

The fact that Microsoft won’t allow cross-play with the PlayStation 4 isn’t surprising, as Sony would not likely allow that either. The big disappointment from the Xbox One owner’s perspective is the lack of cross-play with the PC.

Microsoft has made a big deal out of cross-play between the Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs with games such as Fable Legends, Gigantic, and Killer Instinct all supporting the feature. However, those are games that are available from the Windows Store on PC. Rocket League is only available on Steam and a small developer such as Psyonix is likely uninterested in splitting its player base between Steam and the Windows Store.

The Video Game Awards 2015 show turned into a spectacular night for Psyonix and Rocket League. It was nominated for Best Multiplayer Game, Best Independent Game, and Best Sports/Racing Game. It ended the night winning two of those three nominations for Best Independent Game and Best Sports/Racing Game.

The Best Multiplayer Game category featured the toughest competition for Rocket League with major titles like Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, Halo 5: Guardians, and Destiny all sharing the nomination. However, it was Nintendo’s colorful and cartoonish Splatoon that walked away as the winner.

What do you think of Rocket League coming to the Xbox One? Sound off in the comments below.

[Image via Psyonix]