Back in May 2018, Psyonix revealed that Rocket League would be getting a Rocket Pass. Similar to Fortnite's pass, the Rocket Pass is a kind of secondary progression system in which players reach new tiers and unlock progressively rarer cosmetic items, rather than earning them solely from drops and loot boxes, which can't be opened without purchasing keys or earning decryptors during special events. 

The Rocket Pass will be split into free and premium modes, with the latter offering many more cosmetics at each tier. During a meeting at E3 last week, game director Scott Rudi revealed that this premium pass would cost $10.

No matter which Rocket Pass you use you'll be able to level it up to around tier 70, unlocking new cosmetics and occasionally decryptors at each tier. Premium owners will get a whole lot more, though, including new car bodies and loot box keys (which are better than decryptors as you can trade what you open). Once you reach the max level, however, premium Rocket Pass owners are able to unlock endless 'pro tiers' and continue earning randomized Painted and Certified variants of those same cosmetics, which will be a nice carrot on a stick for those hardcore players—especially because you won't get duplicates until after you've completed the full set. It's a nice alternative to loot boxes, which a lot of people have been too fond of for a while now for obvious reasons.

Each Rocket Pass is expected to last a few months before it and all of its rewards are retired and replaced by a new Rocket Pass with a whole new set of cosmetics to level up and earn.

All of this comes as part of the Summer Feature Update which is expected to arrive in July or August. Other major changes include cross platform parties with the Switch, PS4, and Xbox One, and a revamped leveling system that is now infinite and doesn't require exponential amounts of experience. Combined with the Rocket Pass, it means that players will see a much steadier stream of cosmetic rewards. I can't talk though, I'm still rocking a common paint job and a wizard hat. Sometimes it's nice to keep it simple.

You can read more about Rocket Pass here and other features coming this summer here.