Rocket League Sideswipe Mobile Game Announced

Game developer Psyonix has announced a brand new, standalone Rocket League title for mobile devices. Called Rocket League Sideswipe, the game reportedly takes the core competitive car soccer gameplay and "reimagines" it with mobile devices in mind.

Rocket League's original incarnation has steadily grown in popularity since its 2015 launch, enough so that Fortnite creator Epic Games bought the developer two years ago. Similar to Fortnite, Epic adapted a season pass in addition to making the game free-to-play. The title recently announced its second Llama-Rama event, which crosses over with the battle royale and allows players to earn cosmetics for both Fortnite and Rocket League.

The new Rocket League Sideswipe moves the game's camera perspective to the side (hence the Sideswipe name) in order for more intuitive controls on the small touch-based screens. Players will be able to compete in either one-on-one or two-on-two matches. The upcoming mobile game encourages fast-paced gameplay, namely by shrinking the usual match length from five minutes to two. According to its website Rocket League Sideswipe, despite the new perspective and control scheme, will also feature similar "easy to learn, hard to master" mobile controls, touting "advanced mechanics" for players looking to climb the title's competitive ranking system, much like standard Rocket League.

Rocket League Sideswipe will also have robust car customization, also similar to the game's regular version. The first screenshots reveal the title will feature a number of different arena types, including basketball and a new one which forces players to drive up a wall in order to reach the goal. Set to launch later this year, the mobile title has today begun holding a "limited alpha test" for Android users in Australia and New Zealand. While currently limited to the two countries, the Rocket League site will have more info on future betas in more regions in the coming months.

Although the planned release of Rocket League Sideswipe for iOS should come as a positive development for parent company Epic Games, another Epic title has yet to make a return to the platform - Fortnite. While the situation between Apple and Epic has mostly stymied since last summer, and in-person trial date has been confirmed, which may finally decide the battle royale's ultimate fate on mobile devices.

Popular free-to-play title Rocket League is revealing a new way for players to get items in their inventory. Beginning today, players will purchase new item packs in the form of bundles, which feature cars, wheels, trails, and more.

Released in 2015, Rocket League has steadily grown in popularity, enough so that Fortnite creator Epic Games bought its developer Psyonix two years ago. Similar to Fortnite, Epic adapted a season pass in addition to making the game free for everyone. The title is currently in its second season, which was just extended through the first week of April.

While the new bundles will certainly save players plenty of credits, it should be noted that players will be unable to trade items purchased in the Item Shop, nor are they eligible for trade-ins. The last major new addition was when Rocket League added the Ford F-150, so it should come as good news to players to see a wider range of new cosmetics, and at bundled rates too. More bundles are reportedly coming in the future, so players will want to keep an eye out for the latest and greatest Rocket League has to offer.