Rocket League gets 120Hz mode on Xbox Series X/S — but not PlayStation 5

Rocket League is getting a next-generation update that will enable it to run at 120 frames per second on Xbox Series X and S. Developer Psyonix posted a blog today detailing the changes. These include a new “video quality” option in the car-soccer game’s settings that will come later this year.

On Xbox Series X and S, you can choose between either the Quality or Performance modes. On Series X, Quality gets you 4K at 60 frames per second with HDR. Performance, meanwhile, delivers 1512p at 120 frames per second. Series S does 1080p60 on Quality and 756p120 with Performance settings.

For the PlayStation 5, Sony’s backward-compatibility implementation is holding the game back. Psyonix says that Rocket League will run at the same checkerboard 2160p60HDR as the PS4 Pro version. The studio likely wants to add support for 120 frames per second on PS5, but unlike Xbox, that would require an update to a native next-gen version. PS5 cannot run backward compatible games at 120 frames per second. I originally wrote about this here and how this might prove a problem for live-service games on PlayStation 5.

For now, this is likely only an issue if you are someone who runs games on a 120Hz-capable television. While those exist, it’s more likely that you are using a 4K set that tops out at 60Hz at that resolution. By the time most people upgrade, it’s likely that developers will update their games to run natively on both Sony’s and Microsoft’s new hardware.