When is the Skate 4 release date? While we’ve seen plenty of early footage of Skate 4 already, EA’s upcoming Skate revival is a rare case of a triple-A studio showing off very early in-development footage of a game. Though we’ve seen plenty of Skate 4, we can also clearly see it’s not ready yet. It’s already been over a decade since the last Skate game, so we can hold on a little longer.
The first Skate was among the most innovative skateboard games around, from its analog control scheme and semi open-world game structure to its more realistic, less edgy representation of the skating scene. The development team behind Skate 3 was disbanded after its28 bombarding EA message boards with questions about the series and its potential return ever since. Now, the team is very open about the development process for Skate 4, so here’s what we know so far.
Skate 4 release date estimate
There is no official Skate 4 release date just yet, but we believe the game is going to launch between Q3 and Q4 2025. With console playtesting set to begin in Q4 2024, the developers will want at least half a year to optimize the game. Skate 4 is set to launch on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
While playtesting has been ongoing since early 2022, and you can find out how to sign up yourself below. Playtesting has only been available on PC, but we’ve finally had confirmation that console playtesting is coming at the end of 2024.
For the past two years, gameplay clips of Skate’s alpha state have looked odd as the textures and models haven’t been finalized. As of November 2024, the latest Insider Playtest Highlights video shows off the game in its current state, featuring upgraded visuals compared to what we were shown only months ago. In addition to this, skaters, their boards, and their moves are coming along nicely, bringing heaps of authenticity to the game.
Skate 4 early access release date estimate
Skate 4 will launch in Early Access in 2025, as confirmed by EA and Full Circle on X (formerly known as Twitter). The post states more details on what to expect will be revealed over the coming months.
It’s unclear whether this means the planned console playtesting scheduled for the end of 2024 has been delayed, or if the Early Access launch replaces it entirely. Regarding the Skate 4 Early Access release date, there’s a chance we could see an announcement at The Game Awards, set to take place in December.
Skate 4 gameplay
Even though playtest users signed NDAs stopping them from sharing gameplay, you can find plenty of footage of Skate online. However, this gameplay features incomplete character models, animations, and environments, so it certainly isn’t the finished product.
Skate 4 is going to look pretty familiar in terms of the types of tricks you can pull off and how you execute them. You can see grabs, grinds, flips, and rotations — the way the character models transition between them all looks relatively smooth and very familiar.
There are a lot of off-board traversals, too. We can see players running around, jumping, climbing ladders, and even using grind rails like balance beams. The physics engine allows for some weighty rag dolls, so expect the Hall of Meat to return. There also appears to be multiplayer, but with expanded lobby sizes; we can see nine players in one scene above. And if you’re looking for some snippets of what the final product will look like, then there are some more polished sections in the trailer below:
Beyond what the footage tells us, we also know that Skate 4 will place greater emphasis on community-created content. Skate has had powerful level editing tools before, but the new Skate game will have collaborative building areas where co-op players can join together to start hurling different things together before trying to skate it.
In addition to user-generated content, Full Circle’s looking to add some new tricks of its own – literally. As per The Board Room episode 4, the studio has been working on introducing “wallies, slappies, boned ollies, variable speed flip tricks, and held flip tricks.” This is unsurprising, considering how much modern skating has evolved in the past decade since the release of Skate 3 .
Of course, the process of adding new mechanics and making them feel intuitive to players isn’t simple. Not only does the developer need to figure out how it wants the trick to look, but also how it’ll nestle into various combinations and the game’s environment. Full Circle says that it wants to ensure players have “an ever-expanding toolbox of choices” in San Van, so we can perhaps expect new tricks to be progressively added post-launch – the perks of live service.
Skate character customization
In episode 5 of The Board Room, the developers went into detail about how players will be able to customize their skaters in the new game. For the first time in the series, all skaters are genderless, providing players with every clothing option by eliminating any form of gender-exclusive garments.
There are plenty of deck art options available, and players have access to stickers to place on top of their deck art to make each deck unique. Like the previous games, you have the option to change the color of your wheels to match the art on your board.
In terms of clothing options, players can unlock a special all black suit with a skeleton printed on it. There’s a golden skeleton suit in particular which appears to be difficult to unlock, but this has given the outfit a level of prestige among the community. It’s unclear whether every piece of clothing will be unlockable, or exactly how players can unlock the currency to purchase clothing.
While there are certain outfits that can be unlocked, it appears all clothing options will be available in an in-game store. This gives players a chance to purchase any clothes without having to spend hours trying to grind for currency. The devs have mentioned they are working with specific brands to bring authentic clothing to the game, including a collaboration with Vans to add its iconic shoes to Skate.
Skate 4 or Skate?
Technically, it’s not even called Skate 4 — it’s Skate. But let’s face it, everyone is looking at this as Skate 4, so that’s what we’re going with until Skate catches on again.
Skate 4 setting
We’ve visited a few skateboarding metropolises throughout the series, but Skate 4 is set in a whole new location: San Vansterdam. And yes, that’s quite an obvious reference. Cuz Parry refers to it as a sister city to San Vanelona, the setting from the first two games. It was confirmed in an earlier Board Room episode that there will be an ongoing story for the player and the city of San Vansterdam throughout Skate 4. However, as you can probably guess, they’re just not ready to talk about it yet.
Thanks to The Board Room episode 4, we’ve seen more of San Vansterdam than ever – despite it still being early days for the location. All footage seen in the episode is captured inside the current San Vansterdam build.
What we do know now is that there is a new level of verticality in San Vansterdam. Skaters can “flump” up walls allowing them to reach higher levels, and you may even be able to find a secret hidden gem before anyone else, as there is an incredible amount of world to explore.
Skate 4 activities
Activities in Skate will constantly evolve and change, giving you something new to explore. They’re grounded in Skate 4’s reality, meaning they can be out of the ordinary. Activities are also designed to support the community and involve all players, regardless of skill level.
Some activities currently being worked on and tested are challenges – which players will be familiar with if they’ve ever set foot in a Skate game before. Challenges are short, solo experiences that will rotate in and out of the game with minor changes.
Pop-ups are dynamic events situated around the city that bring people together, which are not “super long or super hard”. An example is a requirement of gaining a 50,000 score as a group, and aim to attract players to one area of the game. Throwdowns encourage people to gather at any time to show tricks and show off. This enables players to put an activity wherever they find a cool space to have light, competitive fun.
Community Events are the final type of activity being worked on currently and allows for “pretty crazy” things to happen. The devs want players to think of these as games at a carnival. They’re light-hearted and fun events.
As for external activities and events, EA has been keeping the community engaged with regular giveaways. You can get involved with these giveaways by joining the Skate Discord channel. Please note, there are terms and conditions that you need to follow, so don’t go entering any competition without reading the fine print first.
Skate 4 story
Skate 2 fans will be pleased to know that Skate 4 appears to be going back to its anti-corporate roots – at least, based on the ‘An Update from M-Corp’ posted in June 2024. Starring sketch show ‘I Think You Should Leave’ co-creator Tim Robinson as investment conglomerate M-Corp representative Richie Dandle, the skit asks all the important questions such as ‘if M-Corp was doing something bad, would we be making vest?’
By the sounds of things, M-Corp is doing plenty bad, not least introducing the devilishly devious ‘Knob Day,’ which involves attaching knobs to anything a budding skater could grind on. According to the ad-laden M-Corp website, Knob Day is crucial to “community safety and aesthetic standards,” though we all know it’s more bad than rad.
From the gameplay snippet at the end of the video, we can see a big old screen showing the news bulletin “M-Corp abandons city,” indicating that the firm’s going to operate similarly to Skate 2’s Mongocorp – that’s got to be a rebrand… Though details of how you’ll play into the narrative are thin on the ground, we can expect to enjoy plenty of classic comedic Skate beats.
Skate 4 insider playtest
You can sign up for the Skate insider playtests over at EA’s website. There’s no promise you will get into any of the playtests as a Skate insider, but it appears the game is only playable on PC right now. The trailer from Summer Game Fest 2024 revealed console playtesting will arrive in Fall 2024. However, it’s unclear whether this will be separate from the early access release in 2025. All Skate insiders must sign an NDA to confirm they will not share any videos, captures, or screenshots from the playtests.
Is Skate 4 free to play?
Yes, Skate 4 is a free-to-play game and it’s live service to boot. As you might expect, the free-to-play model means there are microtransactions. Developer Full Circle says there will not be any gameplay-altering items you can purchase, or loot boxes for that matter. This leaves cosmetics on the table as the main thing players might be able to spend their money on.
Is Skate 4 coming to PC?
Yes, in August 2021 the official Skate X account (formerly known as Twitter) confirmed the new game is coming to PC. As for crossplay and cross-progression, those have also been confirmed, so plenty of good news. We also received confirmation from the comments video back in December 2023 that Skate is going to launch on Steam.
And that’s all you need to know about the Skate 4 release date. If you’re seeking thrilling experiences, browse through our best sports games list to find something extreme. We also have a list of excellent free PC games just like Skate 4 if you’re low on cash.
