Dunks come to Rocket League next week with Hoops update

Car soccer is transforming into car basketball.

Rocket League will get a Hoops Mode update on Tuesday that will introduce a new way to play the popular digital auto sport. It debuts simultaneously on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Steam. This free addition enables players to take their matches to a basketball court where the goal is a giant hoop and backboard. Unlike the standard mode, which has a soccer-style goal, in Hoops you’ll need to get the ball up in the if you want to score. This is the latest in a series of updates that have kept Rocket League fans engaged and spending money on premium downloadable content, which is key way that many studios earn revenue from the $99.3 billion gaming industry.

Additionally, a new cosmetic-item pack featuring the logos of every team from the National Basketball Association will accompany the Hoops update. Now, if you drop the $2 for that content, you can rock a Golden State Warriors flag to show everyone that you have a seat on the bandwagon.

Rocket League has more than 14 million players across its various platforms, according to its developer, Psyonix. While many of those people got the game as part of their PlayStation Plus subscription last summer, the game has sold incredibly well on PC and Xbox One.

And it turns out that the people who paid for that game are Psyonix’s best ongoing customers. At the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco last month, the developer revealed that 25 percent of the people who own Rocket League on Steam have also purchased DLC. That is a significantly higher attach rate than the PS4 version.

The company is obviously looking to keep that cash flowing in with the Hoops update. Personally, though, I’m holding out for a Rocket League Volleyball mode.