Rocket League's Chinese New Year event kicks off next week

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Unlock new themed items and duke it out in a new arena.

Rocket League's new arena, the Forbidden Temple, is a fetching car-ball battlefield all decked out reds and purples, and it will be available to everyone from January 20 to celebrate Chinese New Year. 

Along with the Forbidden Temple, the Lucky Lanterns event will also let you earn red envelopes that can be redeemed for New Year rewards, including some very flashy cosmetics for your wee cars, including paper dragon kites and new dragon-themed skins. Get your hands on limited-time golden lanterns and you'll also be able to unlock items from the Impact, Overdrive and Victory series (Psyonix previously said they'd be from the Champions series, but this was apparently an error).

If you've taken a break from Rocket League, you might have missed a spot of controversy that hit the game late last year. Psyonix has done away with loot boxes, normally a cause for celebration, but the community wasn't too chuffed with what replaced them: an item shop that tipped over the game's economy. 

Along with the shop, players can now get blueprints that can be crafted into a new item, at the cost of some credits. While it's removed the randomness of the old system, it also means you can't get lucky and net yourself a rare item for the price of a single (no longer available) key. Since the update, however, Psyonix has reduced most blueprint prices, with the exception of black market items. 

Complaints seem to have died down since the price reduction, so hopefully everyone is in a better mood this year. 

The Lucky Lanterns event kicks off on January 20 and ends on February 10, 

Fraser Brown
Fraser Brown
Online Editor

Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.