Rocket League Season 4 goes yee-haw on August 11

Rocket League Season 4 starts on Aug. 11 and goes full wild west, Psyonix revealed.

Players can hit the dusty trail as they start the new ranked season, which includes a new arena, named Deadeye Canyon. The new Rocket Pass also has a wild west theme and introduces the Outlaw battle-car (Octane hitbox) with the Premium version. Additionally, Rocket League Season 4 includes the recently announced tournament improvements, which adds 2v2 and extra modes. 

Rocket League Season 4 is a sizeable update

New arenas are quite rare in Rocket League, but Season 4 introduces the second new map since going free-to-play a year ago. The previous, Neon Fields, was added in December of 2020 alongside Season 2. Standard maps are all the same from a gameplay point of view, but new additions and requests remain popular in the community. It is unknown whether Psyonix intends to release a new arena with every even-numbered season. Deadeye Canyon will be added as an arena in all standard playlists.

New LTMs are also on the way and arrive a day after Season 4 begins. 2v2 Heatseeker is coming on August 12, followed by the chaotic Speed Demon mode on August 19. This mode combines mutators, the speed of Boomer Ball mode, demolitions on contact and a fast respawn timer. Then, later in the month, the mutator that was previously only available in private matches, Spring Loaded, will be added as an LTM. This is a Rumble mutator that only enables the Haymaker boxing glove and the Boot.

Streamer protection

Rocket League Season 4 brings good news for steamers as well. A new audio option will turn off or replace all copyrighted in-game music to prevent DMCA strikes on their channels. This includes player anthems.

Party rank restrictions

Players that are far apart in rank but still want to play together in 3v3 will have to start playing in full parties in order to queue up in Season 4. Undersized parties will have to be close in rank to prevent the random third player in the team to be forced to play with a much lower-ranked teammate. Full parties of any combination of ranks are still fully unrestricted. Players can queue up as long as they are three or fewer ranks apart, with divisions not being counted. A difference of four ranks and above will have to find a third to party up with. 

Season 4 Casual improvements

Casual matches are getting a forfeit option and a punishment system for early leavers in Season 4. In ranked,  leaving a match is punished with a temporary ban, but in casual, players have a habit of simply quitting when they concede. Those players will now be banned as well, albeit less harshly. Players can freely quit casual matches once per day, but any more will have to be done with consent of their teammate(s) via the forfeit option.

Rocket League Season 4 begins on August 11 at 11 AM. ET, with Season 3 ending 30 minutes prior.