Screw the World Cup, Rocket League is hosting a free weekend. From today at 10am PST / 6pm BST through Monday, July 9 at the same time, the ball-cage-car 'em up is free to try on Steam. 

Those who opt in can expect full access to Rocket League's features, game modes, Playlists (both Casual and Competitive), and Arenas. And if you like what you see, developer Psyonix says it'll run coinciding 50 percent discount on the base game and select DLC throughout the free to try period. 

Now three years old, Rocket League continues to grow with updates, themed DLC and new Arenas on a regular basis. Moreover, in conversation with Gamespot, game director Scott Rudi says he and his team have no plans for a sequel—but will instead continue to invest in Rocket League's "games-as-a-service" purview. 

"We want to keep this going," says Rudi. "I don't know what I'd do with Rocket League 2. I'd rather do more to expand the existing Rocket League. It's doing great, there is a lot ahead of it. So yeah, we have no plans for Rocket League 2... We want to provide a really good experience [for players] to have fun with for years to come. We want to keep this going."

To celebrate its three year anniversary, Rocket League also follows its free weekend with an Anniversary Event. More information on that can be read here.

Back in May 2018, Psyonix revealed that Rocket League would be getting a Rocket Pass. Similar to Fortnite's pass, the Rocket Pass is a kind of secondary progression system in which players reach new tiers and unlock progressively rarer cosmetic items, rather than earning them solely from drops and loot boxes, which can't be opened without purchasing keys or earning decryptors during special events. 

The Rocket Pass will be split into free and premium modes, with the latter offering many more cosmetics at each tier. During a meeting at E3 last week, game director Scott Rudi revealed that this premium pass would cost $10.

No matter which Rocket Pass you use you'll be able to level it up to around tier 70, unlocking new cosmetics and occasionally decryptors at each tier. Premium owners will get a whole lot more, though, including new car bodies and loot box keys (which are better than decryptors as you can trade what you open). Once you reach the max level, however, premium Rocket Pass owners are able to unlock endless 'pro tiers' and continue earning randomized Painted and Certified variants of those same cosmetics, which will be a nice carrot on a stick for those hardcore players—especially because you won't get duplicates until after you've completed the full set. It's a nice alternative to loot boxes, which a lot of people have been too fond of for a while now for obvious reasons.

Each Rocket Pass is expected to last a few months before it and all of its rewards are retired and replaced by a new Rocket Pass with a whole new set of cosmetics to level up and earn.

All of this comes as part of the Summer Feature Update which is expected to arrive in July or August. Other major changes include cross platform parties with the Switch, PS4, and Xbox One, and a revamped leveling system that is now infinite and doesn't require exponential amounts of experience. Combined with the Rocket Pass, it means that players will see a much steadier stream of cosmetic rewards. I can't talk though, I'm still rocking a common paint job and a wizard hat. Sometimes it's nice to keep it simple.

You can read more about Rocket Pass here and other features coming this summer here.

Rocket League's Jurassic World Car Pack DLC released today, and while I'm not particularly fond of the Jurassic Jeep Wrangler it includes (you can't change the colors, for one thing), I had to check out the T rex goal explosion.

I thought a dabbing reaper was the most obnoxious Rocket League goal explosion possible, but I may have been wrong. See the video above for the screech of victory (make sure your volume's up for the full effect).

The Jurassic World Car Pack is $2, a small price to pay to summon a flaming T Rex accompanied by thousands of people playing plastic vuvuzelas every time you score.

Rocket League's latest content update, Salty Shores, introduced a smattering of '80s-themed content styled after sun-bleached beaches and the retina-searing citrus tones that come with them, including a sandy new map. The update has gone down pretty well overall, there's just one little problem: people can't see the freaking ball. 

As several Redditors have pointed out, the bright sun and even brighter sand of the Salty Shores map can be a legitimate hassle. Many players say they struggle to keep track of the ball and regularly lose sight of boost pads, especially when facing the side of the arena where the sun is rising. Others have reported FPS dips not seen on other maps, presumably due to their graphics cards squinting their eyes. (I am not a hardware expert.) 

Some players say the brightness backlash is overblown and suggest those affected calibrate the brightness and gamma of their monitors. Of course, that raises the issue of other maps (and indeed other games) appearing too dark. Other users have suggested releasing dusk and nighttime versions of the map, which I can definitely get behind if only because they'd probably be really cool. 

The complaint is common enough that it seems like developer Psyonix may actually address it. What do you think, readers? Is Salty Shores too damn bright or just bright enough? 

A pair of iconic Jeeps are coming to Rocket League later this month in the Jurassic World Car Pack, featuring liveries for both Jurassic Park and Jurassic World (Park for Orange team, World for Blue team—don't want things to get too confusing when dino-philes go head-to-head), unique wheels and engine audio, and some goodies for the game's other cars too.

The Jurassic Park staff vehicles are Jeep YJ Saharas, according to this unexpectedly detailed Wiki page. There are five known units, although the numbering scheme (and size of the park) suggests the existence of many more; they're identified as 1992 models in the film, but the Wiki says they're actually '93s. It's so hard to tell with Jeeps: Jeff Goldblum has changed more in the 25-ish years since Jurassic Park than the basic design of the Wrangler model.

The Jurassic World Car Pack will also include a T. Rex goal explosion, a Jurassic Park hard hat topper, Jurassic Park, Jurassic World, and Mr. DNA banners, and Jurassic Park, Jurassic World, and InGen flags. It will be available for purchase on June 18, and will go for $2. 

And this is what it looks like: 

Rocket League's latest Content Update is an '80s-themed summer outing named Salty Shores. It's due next week. 

With it, comes a new seaside arena that's billed as its "sunniest map to date". The following trailer apes Venice, Bondi, Maho, Blackpool, and other famous beach front resorts.

Salty Shores marks the start of its Competitive Season 8, and the distribution of the previous campaign's rewards. A new 'Impact' crate awaits players from launch, as does the new Twinzer battle-car. "Fresh beats" from the 'Rocket League x Monstercat Vol. 3' EP can also be heard in the above short and in-game. And Salty Shores is a permanent addition to the game's online Playlists, 

Elsewhere, Psyonix says Salty Shores includes a 'Beach Blast' event, which won't debut till June 11. "We’ll have more details about Beach Blast closer to the start of the event, so stay tuned," explains the developer in this blog post. 

Salty Shores lands on Tuesday, May 29. Rocket League's Summer 2018 Roadmap can be found in this direction, while stills from the latest content drop can be perused here: 

Can you guess the unifying theme of the Humble Hooked on Multiplayer 2018 Bundle? That's right—indie games! You can pay what you want (a minimum $1 for Steam codes) for Stick Fight: The Game, Rampage Knights, and Tumblestone, and the soundtracks to all three. Or beat the average price, which is currently headed toward $5, and add Besiege, Duck Game, and Hover.   

But that's not all! 

For $14 or more, you'll also get Rocket League, the gravity-defying automotive soccer game. It normally goes for $20, so it's a pretty decent deal, particularly as it comes with a half-dozen lesser-known (but still well-rated) indie games. Which reminds me, the unifying theme here isn't "indie games," it's multiplayer games. In case that wasn't clear. 

The Humble Hooked on Multiplayer 2018 Bundle will be available until May 29. Funds raised will go to support Extra Life/Children's Miracle Network Hospitals and the Special Olympics, or you can select your own if you like.  

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Rocket League will introduce a new tiered item unlock system this summer in which players earn cosmetics for leveling up. The "Rocket Pass" will have both free and paid-for paths. The free version will offer cosmetics—decals, wheels, toppers and the like—as well as decryptors that open crates. The premium pass will be unlocked for a one-off fee and, presumably, will offer better, more regular gear as you progress.

Each pass will last a "few months" before it's retired and you need a new one. Psyonix didn't specify whether the one-off fee will cover you for all premium passes, or whether you'll need to pay each time it expires, but it mentioned that it was "still developing" the idea, so look out for more information soon. It sounds an awful lot like the Battle Passes you can buy in Fortnite, which reward you with cosmetics as you play.

It detailed the new system as it laid out its road map for the next few months: this month, players are getting a new arena, next month they'll get a summer-themed event alongside new licensed DLC, and in July there will be a "big anniversary in-game event with some special throwback content" to mark its third birthday.

Arriving later in the year are cross-platform parties and a new leveling system that removes the level cap and addresses the ramp-up in XP that you need to unlock higher levels. 

You can read all the details here.

Psyonix is taking new steps to combat bad behavior in Rocket League with a "Chat Bans" system that will be added as part of the upcoming Tournaments Update. The studio said the system is "the new first step in addressing abusive language and toxic behavior in game." 

Chat bans will be handed out for the same behavior that currently leads to game bans, but as the name suggests will simply remove the ability of players to chat while they're in the game. When a player is reported for abusive chat—"racial, gender and homophobic slurs, as well as some more general inappropriate language"—the system will scan the match's entire chat log. If the player in question was found to be abusive, a Chat Ban ranging anywhere from 24 hours to a month will be imposed. 

Players hit with chat bans will be given in-game notifications of their duration and also what exactly triggered the ban, so "you'll know what kind of language to avoid in the future." Players who file reports will also be notified if action was taken as a result, although specifics about the offending player will not be revealed. 

The bans won't completely silence players who receive them. Quick Chat will continue to work but only once every five seconds, and chat in Private Matches and Party Chat in Online Matches will work as normal. If the bad behavior persists after a month-long chat ban, then the full-on game bans will be brought into play.   

The Rocket League Tournaments Update will also feature in-game connection quality indicators, new ways to organize your inventory, new music and the new Triumph Crate, and of course tournaments, which you can read about at rocketleague.com. It's set to go live on April 3.   

Rocket League has announced a partnership with World Wrestling Entertainment. The deal includes both in-game crossovers and real life sponsorship.    

Having sided with everything from Back to the Future, to Casper the Friendly Ghost and DC Comics in the past, the WWE is in Badd good company.   

"Throughout 2018, you can expect to see Rocket League all over the WWE universe," says Psyonix on the game's official site. "From regular appearances on UpUpDownDown, WWE’s YouTube gaming channel with Austin Creed a.k.a. WWE Superstar Xavier Woods to sponsorships at live WWE events—you may have even seen us on Elimination Chamber just last night. 

"We’re also very excited to be a partner of WrestleMania 34, where we’ll have Rocket League playable for attendees at one of the biggest sports and entertainment events in the world in New Orleans the weekend of April 8."

For now, Psyonix remains tight-lipped about how the WWE will feature in-game, however does earmark April for its inclusion. By nature, Rocket League already echoes Hell in a Cell—I wonder if the ball-cage-car 'em up could use some TLC?