Rocket League has been free to play since 2020 and still runs on a very wide range of PCs. Still, the answer to "can my computer run it?" does not stop at the processor and graphics card lines: the fate of the macOS and Linux versions, your Windows version and your frame-rate settings all matter too. In this guide we collect Epic Games' official system requirements, explain which platforms are no longer supported and list the in-game settings you can change to fix low FPS.
Official Requirements for Windows
According to Epic Games' support page, Rocket League has the same Windows requirements whether you play through the Epic Games Store or Steam. The official values are:
- Minimum: Windows 7 (64-bit) or newer, a 2.5 GHz dual-core processor, 4 GB of RAM, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 / AMD Radeon R9 270X or better, DirectX 11, a broadband connection and 20 GB of free space.
- Recommended: Windows 7 (64-bit) or newer, a 3.0 GHz or faster quad-core processor, 8 GB of RAM, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 / AMD Radeon RX 470 or better, DirectX 11, a broadband connection and 20 GB of free space.
The real difference between the two lists is memory and graphics card. With 4 GB of RAM the game will start, but you may struggle with a browser or a voice chat app open in the background; 8 GB and a GTX 1060-class card are a sensible floor for smooth play at a high frame rate. One more thing if you install through Steam: the Steam client has only supported Windows 10 and later since January 1, 2024, so the "Windows 7" line is effectively out of date.
macOS and Linux: Native Support Ended in 2020
With its March 2020 update, Psyonix moved the Windows version to 64-bit and DirectX 11. The macOS and Linux clients relied on the DirectX 9 backend, so after the switch they could no longer play online, and people who had bought the game on those platforms were offered Steam refunds. Today you cannot play Rocket League on macOS. You may still see old Mac and Linux lines on the Steam store page, but they do not mean current support.
Linux is a little different: Epic's support page says the game can be played on the Steam Deck. On a desktop Linux machine you can run it through Steam's Proton layer, but that is not official native support and you may lose some performance.
In-Game Settings for Low FPS
Rocket League's video menu (Settings, Video) lets you lower quality item by item. On a weak system it makes sense to go in this order:
- Render Quality: "High Performance" is the single setting with the biggest gain. Try it first.
- Render Detail, World Detail and Particle Detail: set all three to "Performance". Your teammates and the ball look the same; only decoration is reduced.
- Post-processing effects: turn off Bloom, Dynamic Shadows, Ambient Occlusion, Depth of Field, Light Shafts, Lens Flares and Motion Blur. They raise FPS and can also make the ball harder to track.
- Texture Detail: on modern cards textures are usually a cheap setting. If your graphics card has enough video memory, you can leave it high.
- Max FPS and VSync: set the frame cap to your monitor's refresh rate or the highest stable value you can hold. VSync can add input delay, so it is usually left off in competitive play.
- Fullscreen: trying true fullscreen instead of windowed or borderless mode can lower latency a little.
Check your frame rate in a freeplay session after each change; that is the only way to see which setting really helps on your system.
Conclusion
Rocket League still runs on a modest PC: a quad-core processor, 8 GB of RAM and a GTX 1060-class card are a comfortable level on Windows. On macOS the game is officially not playable. If your frame rate is low, setting Render Quality to "High Performance" and turning off the post-processing effects is often enough.
Once performance is sorted, it is time to climb: take a look at our Rocket League rank system and MMR guide, or, if you are curious about the same topic for another game, read our Dota 2 system requirements article.