Surprising no one, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5 is finally made official

Following the now-standard few months of rumors, leaks, and teases, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5 is officially coming later this year to PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. No specific date has yet been provided, according the most recent issue of Game Informer, but the game will launch first on the newer consoles, with the PS3 and Xbox 360 editions to follow.

The game is being developed by Robomodo, which has created numerous off-shoots of the skating franchise for Activision since 2009’s Tony Hawk: Ride and its 2010 follow-up, Tony Hawk: Shred. As the name indicates, this new entry promises to hearken back to the series’ glory days. Although there have been plenty of skating games on numerous platforms under the general aegis of Tony Hawk in the intervening years, there has not been a proper, numbered entry since 2002.

Pro Skater 5 will feature online co-op and competitive modes in addition to single player. Gameplay should flow seamlessly between online and off-, so you can play a few matches against strangers to level up your character online before taking him offline to play solo. Players will be able to design their own original skate parks as well, which can be shared with the community online. Like previous entries in the series, it will feature levels packed with objectives, missions, and secrets for you to uncover through exploration.

Tony Hawk will of course return as the game’s playable frontman. Other familiar faces from the series will return as well, alongside a new generation of skaters, many of whom are young enough to have grown up playing the original games on PlayStation. The roster revealed so far includes Nyjah Huston, Aaron Homoki, Ishod Wair, Riley Hawk, Lizzie Armanto, Chris Cole, David Gonzalez, Leticia Bufoni, and Andrew Reynolds.

Rumors about Pro Skater 5 started to circulate earlier this year when a caterer from an Activision event posted and then promptly removed a picture of himself that included a partial logo for the game in the background. Hawk himself confirmed the game shortly thereafter, but Game Informer’s June issue marks Activision’s first official announcement and also confirms the title. Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5 sits alongside Activision’s recently-revealed Guitar Hero Live as another highly-hyped return to a franchise that made a big splash around the turn of the millennium but has been neglected in recent years.

While you wait, here’s a montage of Hawk’s craziest feats to occupy your mind: