Skate to finally launch into early access 5 years after it was announced

By Carli Velocci Published September 17, 2024

Two people on skateboards about to go into a tunnel at the top of a church. — Electronic Arts

After years of waiting, Electronic Arts announced that its new Skate game is hitting early access in 2025.

The official Skate account on X (formerly Twitter) revealed the news on Tuesday, saying that the team is “incredibly stoked” about the early access release, and that there will be more news over the next few months.

Recommended Videos

If you can’t wait to check it out, you can sign up for the Skate Insider Playtesting program to participate in closed tests.

we're incredibly stoked to announce that skate. will be launching in Early Access in 2025. we'll share more details on what to expect in the coming months. pic.twitter.com/ZbFL3WycWu

— skate. (@skate) September 17, 2024

This is a huge step forward for Skate, the next title in the long-dormant skateboarding game series. The franchise has been on hiatus since 2010. Despite Skate 3 being the best entry in the series, to the point where the publisher had to re-print copies in 2014 because of increased demand, EA said it had no plans to make Skate 4 in 2017.

EA announced that a new Skate game was in development back in 2020 during its EA Play presentation, although game director Deran Chung — who also worked on the original Skate games — clarified that it was in very early stages. Updates have been sparse over the years, with a few trailers and behind-the-scenes videos here and there. It was also unclear if this was a Skate 4, a reboot, or something else entirely.

Developer Full Circle revealed in 2022 that the game — stylized as skate. — would be a free-to-play title with microtransactions, and will take place in a new city called San Vansterdam (related of course to San Vanelona, the city from previous entries). The team called it an “authentic evolution” of the series, and that its live-service nature will allow them to update it for years to come. They also promised that there won’t be any pay-to-win microtransactions or loot boxes.

Former Contributor, Games

Carli is a technology, culture, and games editor and journalist. They were the Gaming Lead and Copy Chief at Windows Central…

Topics

Gaming

Sony’s new PS5 Prism Collection gives a beautiful retro makeover to your console and controller

The new collection lets you peek inside your PS5 and DualSense controller with a glossy transparent design.

sony-prism-collection-ps5

Remember when transparent gadgets were the coolest things you could own? Sony is bringing that late '90s aesthetic back with its new PS5 Prism Collection. The gorgeous lineup gives your DualSense controller and PS5 console a glossy, see-through makeover in three eye-catching colors.

https://twitter.com/PlayStation/status/2115459064981512662?s=19

Gaming

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4’s Stranded mission had me hooked for hours, yet left me wanting more

I spent hours sneaking through North Korea, scavenging supplies, and clearing outposts, and I’d happily do it all again.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Stranded mission gameplay

For years, Call of Duty’s campaign mode has used big, scripted set pieces to tell the overarching story amid all the adrenaline-pumping action. The 2023 Modern Warfare 3 tried to shake up the established formula by introducing a handful of short open combat missions, and I genuinely liked the idea, but the game's overall negative reception seeped into how those missions were received.

I feared the next iteration might abandon the idea because of the backlash, but I am glad it didn't. MW4’s “Stranded” mission uses the same approach, but instead of fragmenting it across the campaign, it puts it all in a single large-scale open-world mission.

Computing

The $1300 Acer Predator Atlas 8 handheld is finally US-bound, and its pre-orders are already sold out

Acer’s first gaming handheld to launch in the US arrives November 1 with Intel Arc G3 Extreme hardware.

Intel Arc G3 Extreme Hands On with Acer Predator Atlas 8

Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.

Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.