The game's experience (XP) structure has gone untouched since its launch in 2015. That structure was simple: players earned XP based on performance in online and offline matches. That XP was added to a player’s profile and contributed to a numeric level between one and 75. The XP rank is separate from a player’s competitive rank. Depending on the level, players would earn a title like pro, semi-pro, expert and eventually earned the top rank of rocketeer. Following a future update, that model will be scrapped to pave the way for a new, more meaningful XP and level system.

“Rocket League” has some big changes on the way. A future update is completely revamping the game’s experience system, as well as adding Rocket Pass. Rocket Pass is an all new way for players earn in-game items.

XP is one of the game's oldest institutions and was once displayed as a badge of honor among the game's most devoted players. But over the past year, most players at high competitive levels choose to hide their XP level and title since players at those levels are usually level 70 and above. Under the current system, XP is meaningless once players hit peak of level 75.

Under the new XP system, the 75 level cap is gone, as is the curve that takes longer to level up at higher levels compared to lower ones. There is no level limit and each level takes the same amount of time to complete. According to Psyonix, each level will take two-to-three hours of gameplay to complete. Once the new system goes live, players will be grandfathered into their new level. If a player reached the top level of 75, “Rocket League's” new game director Scott Rudi promises that the new level will be close to 75. If a player has been at level 75 for a long time, their new level will reflect that. The new level will be based on online matches played.

“The vast majority of players will be remapped to close to where they are right now.” Mr. Rudi said. “Those people who hit 75 way early and have been playing the heck out of the game, they’re going to end up remapping to a higher level compared to someone who just hit 75. It’s a way to recognize that they’ve been playing a lot and stuff like that. There’s no advantage to being a higher level other than some recognition among peers.”

The new XP system paves the way for a new way to earn in-game items: the Rocket Pass. Rocket Pass is similar to "DOTA" and "Fortnite's" method of monetization. The pass, which consists of 70 tiers, allows players to earn items that are completely unique to anything earnable outside of Rocket Pass. A $10 purchase will give players access to all 70 tiers. Every time an XP level is gained, a tier is unlocked and an item is earned. These items can include every type of car customization including toppers, decals, paint types, boosts, rocket trails and unique car bodies themselves. Mr. Rudi promises that there's even a new kind of car customization coming in Rocket Pass, although he refused to share any hints about it. Those who don’t purchase the Rocket Pass will be able to earn this new type of customization.

There are a couple new ways to boost XP after the future update goes live. Players will receive an XP bonus when playing in a party, and Rocket Pass owners will get their own XP boost as well. Inversely, there will be a newly implemented XP penalty for those who quit online matches early that will last several games.

The big difference between the Rocket Pass item structure and the current model of crates is that the Rocket Pass isn't random. As it stands with crates, players can see an array of items inside a crate and pay a dollar to open it, but what the player gets is random chance. In the Rocket Pass, players will be able to scroll through and see exactly what they receive after completing each tier. Even after unlocking tier 70, players will periodically earn certified or painted versions of Rocket Pass items that were previously unlocked.

Those who choose not to opt into the Rocket Pass will get some in-game goods for playing. The Rocket Pass is laid out into two rows: one for people who own the Rocket Pass, and another row for those without it. The row for those without the Rocket Pass has much fewer items on it, but will show players when they'll unlock their next item.

(Rocket Pass will be laid out similarly to "Fortnite's" Battle Pass: a row for Pass holders and a row for non-holders)

When it comes to trading, Rocket Pass owners will be able to trade anything they don't want with friends, but since Rocket Pass items have a rarity of their own, players won't be able to trade up for rarer items.

The current plan for Rocket Pass is for passes to last between two and three months, but that could change in the future. The Rocket Pass duration will not be in line with the competitive seasons. Their beginning and ends will likely fall in the middle of the competitive seasons, keeping them as their own separate entities.

When asked if this was a way to start to phase out crates, Mr. Rudi said that's not the case. The two monetization methods will coexist. “We don’t have any plans [to phase out crates] right now. Who knows what the future holds, but right now we’re not planning that and it’s just an addition right now.”

This update will also bring the feature of cross-platform parties. Players will be given a Psyonix username and can add friends regardless of platform. From there, they can jump into matches with online friends even if they’re on a different platform. This new system will suffer through the same rules of the current console war. Xbox players can play with Nintendo Switch and PC players. PlayStation players will be able to play with PC players, but not Xbox or Switch players. Other games like “Fortnite” suffer through the same problem. Unfortunately, it’s out of the hand of the developers as it’s a choice implemented by Sony.

No word on when exactly we can expect to see the update that will bring about the XP changes and Rocket Pass, but Psyonix promises that it will be released later this summer.