During the ongoing 2026 Rocket League Championship Series Paris Major, Epic Games and Psyonix delivered on a major announcement that they had been building for weeks, with many professional players and onsite content creators hinting at the announcement over the past few days.
The future of Rocket League will be in Unreal Engine 6, which has been highly anticipated by players for years. Rocket League was originally developed on Unreal Engine 3, which has undoubtedly hindered Psyonix's ability to regularly update the game as they have enjoyed in recent years.
We saw a brief clip of Rocket League running in UE6, and it looks close to photorealistic. There's no indication of when it's coming, though, so it could be a ways off.
Unreal Engine 3 lacks many of the contemporary features that developers enjoy with modern engines, and it is difficult for junior developers to train on the old engine when they are more familiar with UE5. We've seen teams like Halo Studios and TT Games face similar struggles with older engines before finally opting to switch to Unreal.
While many are sure to be excited by the announcement, there are also some concerns. Mainly, players are concerned that the new engine could meaningfully change the way the game's physics engine behaves. The core feel of Rocket League is tied to how the ball reacts when it hits someone's car, and any changes to those systems will cause massive shock waves in the community.
Still, Epic Games is responsible for both UE3 and UE5, so the port is less likely to feel worse than the original. Everyone is looking for the exact same game with shiny new visuals and more content, and it looks like Epic is going for it.
A major storm is brewing in Paris
The announcement of Rocket League in UE6 came during the semi-finals of the Paris Major, a perfect time to make such a big announcement, the event being one of the biggest in the game.
The energy in Paris is electric, as the three competing teams, Carmine Corp, Team Vitality and Gentle Mets, are French institutions and have each reached the last six of a major. The fandom of these respective organizations is on full display in the streets of Paris, seen by many as the spiritual home of Rocket League esports.
With Carmine Corp and Team Vitality competing to see who will face Twisted Minds in the next semi-final grand final, the energy frenzy at La Défense Arena in Paris continues.
Rocket League
- issued
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July 7, 2015
- ESRB
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E For All: A Light Song
- developer(s)
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Psyonix
- publisher(s)
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Psyonix
