The new SKATE will be Free2Play and so you should have fun with the new model

Here you can see a so-called pre-pre-pre-alpha screenshot from the game.

The new offshoot of the Skate series is back with unexpected news: the next game isn’t called Skate 4 as assumed, but simply SKATE – and the reason for this naming is that the title should accompany us for years to come. With publisher EA, SKATE makes the leap to a Free2Play model and cross-platform playability and progression. You should also be able to skate on mobile in the future, although development for this platform is still at an early stage.

We tell you what the developers have announced in a new video and what they also told us in an interview.

SKATE as a live service game

The new SKATE will be very different than many fans probably expected and the development team Full Circle is aware that the Free2Play approach will cause some players to worry in advance. To counteract this, the team wants to show transparency and explains: Of course there will be offers for real money, but these should mainly be of a cosmetic nature.

Pay2Win shouldn’t be there and they also want to do without loot boxes. In addition, all areas of the new city should be freely accessible without players having to spend money.

Here you can watch the full video of developers talking about what’s new:

link to YouTube content

We wanted to know what we can buy in the shop for real money. Creative Director Deran Chung explains:

Creative Director Cuz Parry adds that the items that you can buy for real money often still have a practical use, even if they don’t give you a direct gameplay advantage. He cites larger ramps as an example. In the new city of San Vansterdam there will be areas where we can design our own skate spots together. As for the additional elements offered for this, Chung explains:

season pass? The two cannot yet answer exactly what the live service will look like, for example with a season pass. Various models are currently being discussed.

What can we expect in the new SKATE?

As previously mentioned, the new city is called San Vansterdam, and Parry describes it as sort of a “sister city” to fan-favorite San Vanelona. Chung elaborates:

For the two developers, the big game changer in this new skateboard metropolis is the multiplayer element. It should ensure that players can discover something new on every detour, as other fans build their own elements, for example, or get together to experiment with them.

This screenshot is good to see that the development will probably need a little more time.

We wanted to know if SKATE is moving away from the sim concept in the process and takes a more arcade approach than its predecessors. Parry explains that for him, one of the main aspects of the franchise has always been that the games don’t tell us how to skate. He never saw Skate as a pure Sim. That’s exactly what the new SKATE is all about.

Chung elaborates:

We can offer a super wide range of playstyles. If you want to skate seriously and realistically, you can. If I want to go crazy and use the biggest elements and wild stuff, you can do that.

How about the controls? In general, fans of the series can expect jumping onto the board to feel familiar. The developers told us that the controls should remain the same in principle, but be improved in a few points. For example, it is about keeping the barriers to entry for new players small. We should also get more freedom when customizing the layout.

Also how the activities and challenges in the game will look like – for example whether we want to jump from buildings or rather have a super realistic skateboarding competition, should be decided by the community. If you want to have a say now, you can apply to EA as a SKATE insider for the playtest.

I like the idea of ​​bringing the creative spirit from the (real) skate parks into a game, because I’m a big fan of the international skate scene in real life. So I’ll definitely check out SKATE when it’s done. However, there are still many question marks for me. I still can’t imagine what exactly happens when I get on my board.

Will there be enough to do? Are the tasks varied and fun? Above all, are they also motivating, for example through cool rewards? Or is the really fun stuff only available in the shop after all? As a fun title, can SKATE also appeal to people who are not interested in skating in real life, so that there is enough going on on the servers? For me, the answers to these questions decide whether SKATE can pick me up or not.

What do you think of the plans for the new SKATE? Will you use the Free2Play model to try it out or are you skeptical about this approach?