Liputan6.com, Jakarta - On May 24, 2026, amidst the excitement of the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) Paris Major, it was announced by Epic Games and Psyonix that Rocket League would be making a significant technological leap.
The beloved mobile soccer game would be switching to Unreal Engine 6 (UE6), bypassing the much-anticipated Unreal Engine 5.
This announcement also marked the first public debut for Unreal Engine 6.
Advertisement
This transition marked the first game engine upgrade for Rocket League since its launch in 2015.
The decision to jump directly from Unreal Engine 3 to Unreal Engine 6 surprised many, including players and industry professionals.
A Surprising Technological Leap
The announcement of Rocket League's transition to Unreal Engine 6 was a major highlight at the RLCS Paris Major 2026.
Epic Games and Psyonix officially revealed the plan on May 24, 2026, during the semi-final break.
The decision to switch directly from Unreal Engine 3 to UE6, without stopping at Unreal Engine 5, sparked much discussion within the gaming community.
Many observers and players had previously suspected that Rocket League would switch to Unreal Engine 5 for its graphical upgrades.
However, the developers chose a more ambitious path by directly adopting the next-generation engine.
A visual preview trailer accompanying the announcement showcased gameplay footage of the game running on the new engine.
Advertisement
Significant Improvements with Unreal Engine 6
Unreal Engine 6 promises a series of fundamental improvements that will revolutionize the Rocket League gaming experience.
One of the most notable aspects is the significant graphical improvements, including support for high-end ray tracing.
Beyond visuals, video game performance will also see drastic improvements.
The transition to UE6 is expected to result in smoother gameplay and higher tick-rates, which are crucial for competitive games like Rocket League.
The new engine will also support real-time hotfixes, allowing for quick fixes without interrupting gameplay.
Full multi-threading support in Unreal Engine 6 will overcome the single-threaded simulation bottleneck present in previous engine versions.
UE6 will also introduce the Verse programming language, currently only available in the Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN), with the goal of unifying the Unreal and Fortnite creator ecosystems.
Timeline and Crucial Questions for the Future
Although Rocket League has been showcased running on Unreal Engine 6, the engine itself is not expected to be fully ready until around 2028.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney previously stated that a preview version of UE6 would be available in two to three years, with a full release likely in 2028.
The development time for Unreal Engine 5, which took approximately 23 months from reveal to full release, provides a rough idea of how long it will take for UE6 to be ready for production for developers.
Therefore, fans of the video game may need to be patient to enjoy the final version of Rocket League with UE6.
There is no confirmation yet whether the version of Rocket League with UE6 will be an update to the existing game or will be released as a separate Rocket League 2.
Advertisement
:strip_icc()/kly-media-production/avatars/3882201/original/089958900_1753245613-Softcopy_of_photograph.jpeg)
:strip_icc()/kly-media-production/medias/6915635/original/087711600_1779686509-rocket-league.jpg)

:strip_icc()/kly-media-production/medias/6914487/original/097868000_1779684920-kimi-antonelli-canda-gp.jpeg)
:strip_icc()/kly-media-production/medias/6912980/original/072266300_1779683367-krispy-kreme-clayton-malquist-unsplash.jpg)
:strip_icc()/kly-media-production/medias/6909869/original/040686000_1779680496-andrew-neel-JBfdCFeRDeQ-unsplash.jpg)
:strip_icc()/kly-media-production/medias/6906938/original/059704000_1779677475-photo-collage.png__23_.jpg)
:strip_icc()/kly-media-production/medias/6598590/original/053082300_1779435841-michael-keaton-birdman-imdb.jpg)
:strip_icc()/kly-media-production/medias/6595819/original/080758600_1779433889-zombieland-2009.jpg)
:strip_icc()/kly-media-production/medias/6593726/original/092511100_1779432389-honda-ivett--unsplash.jpg)
:strip_icc()/kly-media-production/medias/6591923/original/073029200_1779431142-emily-in-paris-series.jpg)
:strip_icc()/kly-media-production/medias/6590125/original/075919400_1779429835-the-boroughs-netflix.jpg)
:strip_icc()/kly-media-production/medias/6587485/original/093683500_1779427958-ludwig-kaiser-x.jpeg)
:strip_icc()/kly-media-production/medias/6585808/original/004841100_1779426757-king-charles-iii-coronation.jpg)
:strip_icc()/kly-media-production/medias/6583815/original/053214600_1779425327-destiny-2-video-game.jpeg)