‘Rocket League’ Going ‘Looney Tunes’ With Rumble Mode In September Update

Rocket League‘s success hasn’t prevented developer Psyonix from experimenting with the rocket car meets soccer surprise hit. In fact, a new Rumble mode revealed Sunday during the Rocket League Championship Series appears to be pulled straight out of a Looney Tunes cartoon and shows the studio is willing to come up with even crazier car antics.

Rocket League Rumble will be added to the game in September with a collection of 11 zany power-ups. Players will be equipped with a random power-up during the match that will give them an extra advantage at scoring, stealing the ball or just taking out an opponent. For example, a grappling hook will pull a car towards a ball while The Boot will kick an opposing player’s car across the arena.

Psyonix is not being shy about sharing the new abilities and what each does. Here is the list shared on the game’s official website:

• The Boot(Kicks an opponent’s car)
• Disruptor(Forces your opponent to drive uncontrollably)
• Freezer(Freezes the ball in-place)
• Grappling Hook(Pulls you towards the ball)
• Haymaker(Punches the ball)
• Magnetizer (Attracts the ball to your car)
• Plunger (Grabs the ball via plunger and cord)
• Power Hitter(Allows you to hit everything harder)
• Spike(Attach the ball to your car when you bump into it)
• Swapper (Change positions on the field with your opponent)
• Tornado(Sweep up the ball and opposing cars into a giant funnel cloud)

The new Rumble mode will be completely free when it is released to Rocket League in September. It will join the “Hoops” and “Mutator” modes in online playlists for Private and Exhibition matches.

This is just the first part of the September update Psyonix is revealing for September. Vice President Jeremy Dunham teased more is to come in an interview with IGN.

“As we get closer to the Rocket League Championship Series,” Dunham told IGN, “around that time [August 6-7] is when we’re going to start promoting our next update – and wait ’til people see it. We’ve got something brewing that a lot of people have been asking for in different forms but is also very surprising. It’s going to be interesting, but it’s going to be cool too.”

One possible new feature has already been leaked and confirmed by Psyonix. A loot crate system similar to Overwatch and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is planned to give players the opportunity to spend either real money or in-game credits on a chance to win rare skins and other cosmetic items.

Money generated from the loot crate system will go towards funding the Rocket League eSports prize pools and events. Players will not be able to sell the crates to other players via the Steam Marketplace or gamble with them.

Whether the September update will add support for cross-play between the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One is definitely up for question at the moment. Psyonix previously confirmed it was ready to flip the switch to allow console owners from both platforms to play one another along with the PC. Sony hasn’t given any indication of giving the go-ahead, however, while Microsoft has already signaled it is all in.

“We’re literally at the point where all we need is the go-ahead on the Sony side and we can, in less than a business day, turn it on and have it up and working no problem,” Dunham explained. “It’d literally take a few hours to propagate throughout the whole world, so really we’re just waiting on the permission to do so.”

What do you think of the upcoming Rocket League Rumble mode and the September update? Sound off in the comments below.

[Image via Psyonix]