Epic Games has revealed Unreal Engine 6 with a trailer featuring an updated version of Rocket League. Given how common Unreal Engine 5 has become in the games, this announcement is a big deal for the video game industry.
Rocket League Gets a Complete Revamp With A New Engine
Rocket League is getting an impressive makeover in the newly revealed Unreal Engine 6, Epic Games has confirmed. Announced during the 2026 Rocket League Paris Major event, the game’s publisher and engine developer showcased real-time footage of the game running on the new version of Unreal Engine. No specific release date for this upgrade was shared during this reveal, and it’s still unclear when Unreal Engine 6 will see widespread release.
Epic Games and Psyonix unveiled the future of Rocket League with a teaser trailer to cap off the 2026 Rocket League Paris Major, giving players a glimpse of the game running in real time in Unreal Engine 6. The trailer opens with a showcase of the new lighting and detail present on both Rocket League‘s cars and field. More reflective surfaces and dynamic lighting are the stars of this trailer, giving Rocket League a clear visual upgrade from its current state.
This Engine Was Teased In The Past
While Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney teased the new engine in a 2025 interview, this is the first time we’ve publicly seen Unreal Engine 6 in action. An image briefly shown in the teaser also suggests that Fortnite will receive Unreal Engine 6 support. That makes sense, as Fortnite is Epic Games’ flagship title and serves as a platform for other games. As of now, that’s about all we know about the updated version of Rocket League and Unreal Engine 6, as even the official Unreal Engine X account hasn’t acknowledged the announcement at the time of publishing.
Regardless, the reveal and eventual launch of Unreal Engine 6 will have ramifications for the video game industry. Many high-profile games already utilize Unreal Engine 5, including Black Myth: Wukong, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and the recently released Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight. Upcoming games like The Witcher 4 and Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra are also confirmed to use Unreal Engine 5, although the announcement of its successor raises the question of whether those games will upgrade.
Unreal Engine 5 entered early access around a year after its initial reveal, and received a wide release a year after that, so it’s possible that Unreal Engine 6 could follow a similar timeline. We’ll just have to wait to learn more about Unreal Engine 6 from Epic Games to better understand what improvements the next iteration of this game engine will bring.
What We Can See With The New Unreal Engine 6
Unreal Engine 6 has the potential to provide a massive leap in graphical fidelity for future games. Unreal Engine 5 was revealed back in 2020 before hitting early access in 2021. The transition to Unreal Engine 5, with its official release back in 2022, already marked a definite upgrade in immersion, but it took a while to become the industry standard. Notable games developed using Unreal Engine 5 include Black Myth: Wukong, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, Borderlands 4, and many more.
Upcoming games like The Witcher 4 and Halo: Campaign Evolved have already confirmed their use of Unreal Engine 5 for development. Depending on the timelines of in-development UE5 games, it’s possible that developers may begin transitioning to Unreal Engine 6 as Epic Games rolls out early access for the software. It may be too late for a game like Halo: Campaign Evolved to make the switch, given its 2026 release window. But CD Projekt Red may be interested in transitioning development of a game like Cyberpunk 2 over to the new engine. For now, gamers can look forward to what Rocket League will look like with its shiny new coat of Unreal Engine 6 paint.
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