Skate Is Placing A Long-Term Bet On Its Community

It’s been 15 years since Skate 3, and a lot has happened in the skateboarding game genre since. The Tony Hawk series entered an experimental phase with mixed results, including a physical board controller and the ill-fated Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5, until jumping into the modern remake trend throughout the past five years. Meanwhile, multiple independent studios took a stab at the genre while catering to different audiences–Session: Skate Sim and Skater XL experimented with independent foot control schemes with an emphasis on physics to emulate realism, for example, while the OlliOlli series took a more arcade approach via a 2D perspective.

But amidst all of this, the absence of the EA series was felt. A decade after Skate 3, developer Full Circle, a team that includes series veterans such as Deran Chung and Chris “Cuz” Parry, announced Skate. Not Skate 4, but Skate–a free-to-play, live-service take on the game that’s launching in early access on September 16. After a virtual press briefing, I got access to a preview build that served as an introduction to not just what will be available at the start of early access, but the new vision for the series. It’s a vision that’s placing a big bet on fostering a community made of newcomers and veterans, while also intersecting with the industry trends that have overtaken online games in Skate’s 15-year absence.

Some tricks in Skate defy logic, but they look incredible.
Some tricks in Skate defy logic, but they look incredible.

Skate takes place in San Vansterdam, a fictional and sprawling city composed of four districts. Your story begins at an odd time to be shredding in those streets–once a haven for fellow skaters, the nicknamed locale San Van has been taken over by the corporate conglomerate M-Corp, and the people are trying to reclaim the city for themselves. In a similar fashion to past entries, the story doesn’t have a big presence and is mostly there to introduce the world and give your skater a narrative framework for why you’re taking on the so-called tours, which are a series of challenges and short missions meant to teach you tricks and new mechanics.

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