First announced in June 2020, Skate 4, more annoyingly known as just skate. (yes, lowercase with a random, irredeemable period), will finally launch in early access in 2025.
EA shared the news earlier today, finally ending years of teasers semi-conclusively. That said, playtests for Skate 4 – I'm calling it that until it gets a meaningful title - are very much ongoing.
"Over the last two years, the team has welcomed tens of thousands of individual playtesters into the city of San Vansterdam via the PC version, with console playtesting set to come in the fall 2024," EA says. "Players can still sign up to become a skate. Insider today for a chance to playtest and help shape the future of skate."
A short, still pre-alpha trailer released to mark the occasion shows off – you guessed it – some more skating. The game looks a bit more polished than it did in some previous, admirably blocky trailers, but the fact that it's launching in early access is no surprise.
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/ZbFL3WycWuSeptember 17, 2024
The latest Skate 4 development update arrived in June. At the time, the team said they'd done "a ton of work rebuilding Flick-It, skate.'s core trick control system."
"We want to make sure every trick feels fun and satisfying, while delivering the familiarity from past Skate games," the devs continued. "On top of that, we’ve improved accuracy and control to make learning tricks easier. The team is also hard at work to give you the tools to have fun your way, by yourself or with friends, anywhere in San Vansterdam. Almost everything you do in the game will earn you rewards, so you can customize your character, setup, and even unlock new objects to place and skate in San Van."
Skate 4 devs reassure fans it won't include paid loot boxes.