A fun, rocket car-based form of soccer, the simple yet enthralling gameplay has seen many players get totally addicted to it. But at times when you don’t have internet, the question becomes: can you play Rocket League offline?
Rocket League can be played offline on all consoles and platforms. You can get up to four players as long as you have enough controllers and an adaptor, including on the Switch in docked mode.
Let’s look at how to set Rocket League up to play in offline mode, the steps to get it working on each platform, and some tips and tricks to make sure everyone gets to play.
On Which Platform Can You Play Rocket League Offline?
Offline play is available for every platform that the online version of Rocket League can be played on. This means PlayStation 4 and 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One/Series X/Series S, and Steam for PC.
Player limits on all platforms are limited to four players for a local offline gaming session.
Exhibition matches and Season mode are available for offline play. Exhibition can be played against three AI-controlled players, or a mix of humans and AI.
Season play via offline mode only allows play against AI opponents and teammates.
How to Play Rocket League Offline?
The method to play offline depends on the platform.
PC
For PC players on Steam and Epic Games, first, sign in to Steam and then from the menu select Offline Mode. Boot up Rocket League and you then have the ability to play custom games of Exhibition or Season mode.
Four local players connected via a controller adapter can play, but keep in mind that as there is no LAN mode, it will always have to be via split screen on a single machine.
Epic Games doesn’t support offline mode, so you’ll have to link to your Steam account to do this on PC. Epic Games provides a great page that allows you to link, so just go to this link and sign in, set your primary platform, and you’re all done!
PlayStation
First, start your PlayStation up and launch Rocket League using the primary controller.
On the second controller, hit the PS button to turn it on and activate the sign-in for the second player. You should have the options of ‘Get Started’, ‘Sign In and Play’, or ‘Quick Play’.
To join the current game party lobby, hit settings. Then it is up to the primary controller to set up the match settings.
You don’t need PS Plus to play local, offline games, but you do need it for online play.
Xbox
First, turn on the Xbox and connect all controllers for each player, up to a maximum of four.
You don’t need to sign in to Xbox Live to do this. Once all controllers are connected, launch Rocket League with the primary or first controller.
You should then have each player press the Menu button on their controller which will put them in the active party.
Xbox subscriptions are not needed to play offline, even with four players, making it perfect for when friends come over.
Nintendo Switch
Make sure you are not connected to the internet, and then Launch Rocket League and select a user, you will get a prompt asking you to connect to the internet but you can just select ‘Back’ and it will continue to load the game.
From the Play menu, you can select local and then choose Exhibition matches.
Can You Play Rocket League 2 Players Offline?
The PC, Xbox, and PlayStation support up to four players offline. The Nintendo Switch doesn’t seem to support multiple human players on a single Switch when playing offline although you can use one JoyCon each to play split screen.
Given that you can’t be on the internet when playing Rocket League offline on the Switch, the maximum is two players on a single Switch.
Player two will need to press the minus button (-) on your JoyCon and then either log in to a Nintendo account or select skip to use a temporary local profile. At this point you’ll need to confirm your controller by pressing down the SL and SR buttons at the same time.
For playing with two JoyCons or Pro Controllers, instead, press the plus button (+) on your JoyCon or your Pro Controller and then log in to a Nintendo account or select skip to use a temporary local profile.
Finally, you’ll have to confirm your controller by pressing down the L and R buttons at the same time for each player.
If you’re keen to get four players, you’ll have to put the Nintendo Switch in Docked Mode.
Conclusion
So, can you play Rocket League offline? Well, yes! It is a great game that is perfect for a party game when you’ve got some friends over.
Offline mode is available for the times when you don’t have any internet, allowing you to have a portable game that you can play with up to three friends. While the AI players won’t be as creative as human players, they can prove quite a challenge.
Sometimes the AI will get a bit predictable, but that doesn’t mean you won’t get any fun out of the offline games.
Offline mode is also an excellent opportunity to play against the AI opponents to hone your skills, with the Season mode allowing you to set up tiered difficulty that increases over time, giving you an excellent challenge.
Each opponent you beat in Season mode means your next opponent will be all the harder, as the AI will get increasingly better, leading to a grand final showdown against the hardest opponent. While not as good as beating human players, it is still a thrilling experience.
Hopefully, Epic Games allows offline modes with their launcher and ecosystems at some point in the future, but the ability to choose Steam as the primary platform means that it is still possible to do this with a little bit of reconfiguring.
