The Ford F-150 has a new competition version, and it has nothing to do with the new Raptor. Instead, the strong-selling pickup enters the virtual world a newly available vehicle for the popular soccer-inspired sports game Rocket League. Plus, the Blue Oval is sponsoring the Rocket League Championship Series Winter Majors esports tournament.
The F-150 in Rocket League will only be available from February 20 through 28. In addition to the truck, the package comes with two sets of wheels, engine audio, a themed boost, and a player banner.
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Ford’s designers worked with Rocket League‘s developer Psyonix to make sure the F-150 looked realistic but also was a match with the game’s whimsical aesthetic motif. The result is a vehicle that’s rounder than the real thing but has identifiable cues like the headlights and window shape.
“It had to be an F-150 but one that fits within Psyonix’s extreme virtual world pairing soccer and mayhem,” said Ehab Kaoud, chief designer of Ford trucks.
Ford sees a marketing opportunity to advertise during gaming events like the Rocket League Winter Majors. An F-150 will appears between matches during the tournament to repair the pitch, repaint boundary lines, and two away damaged vehicles. The company will also give away a real 2021 F-150 as a prize during the Rocket League Freestyle Invitational where players will show off their best tricks for a panel of judges.
Rocket League ranks among the most popular online competitive games. The main mode is basically a high-speed take on soccer with two teams trying to launch a ball into a goal. Players launch their vehicles into the ball, rather than kicking it. Like the real-life sport, there’s skill involved in knowing exactly how to strike the ball with precison towards the target.
