New Skate will be Free to play, will have crossplay and crossprogression between PS, XBOX and PC

[John Elden Ring]

Skate’s developers say going free to play is a ‘natural evolution of the franchise’

It’s not quite the Skate 3 sequel you might have expected.

www.theverge.com

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EA's new Skate is going to be a live-service free-to-play skateboarding game, developer Full Circle announced in a video on Thursday. Fans have been eagerly asking for some kind of Skate 3 follow-up for years, but this new title won't be the Skate 4 they might have been expecting; instead of a numbered iteration, Full Circle is imagining Skate (that's the name, though EA stylizes it with a period at the end) as a constantly evolving world with community-created content that's easy for everyone to ollie into.

It's an authentic evolution of the franchise and taking what Skate 3 was in 2010 and bringing it to now and to the future," Deran Chung, a creative director on Skate, said in an interview with The Verge. "That is not only an evolution of the franchise, but it's an evolution of where skateboarding is and was from 2010 to now and also where games are from then to now."

Skate will be available on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC, with crossplay and cross-progression. (The developers are exploring a mobile version, too.) But the full release is still a long ways away. In June, Full Circle debuted "pre-pre-pre-alpha" footage and invited players to sign up to playtest Skate, but they haven't given any sort of release timeframe for the launch.

As for the game's business model, Mocquard said the microtransactions are primarily going to be about cosmetics and convenience. "I want it to be very clear that it's not a pay-to-win game. There won't be any gameplay areas hidden exclusively behind a paywall. Players won't be able to buy any gameplay altering advantages." The team believes that "the best business models are based on respect, trust, and transparency," and they want to create "a healthy model that will allow us to continue investing back into the game," according to Mocquard. The team is also planning on having things like seasonal drops and live events in the game, "but we are still exploring different options."

One feature the developers were excited about was what they called "CollaboZones" (a working title), which are areas that can be collaboratively built by players and appear in other people's worlds. In Thursday's video, Full Circle showed off some examples, including an absolutely massive ramp and a structure that looked like a skyscraper-tall pachinko board.

 

[Satoru]

Exactly what we needed, more live service games.

Way to kill a beloved franchise.

 

[Bryank75]

Making it a Live Service game means it really isn't the same game at all...just uses the name of a beloved franchise.

I really hope it is a good game though, I hope Skate fans enjoy it, whatever way it turns out. But EA.... I just do not trust.

 

[Themaskedcrag]

 

[nominedomine]

I like it, not like if I was ever going to pay for an EA game again anyway.

 

[Swolf712]

We've only ourselves to blame for memeing it back into existence. Should have left it dead,

 

[Yobo]

Can EA go out of business yet?

 

[Bryank75]

I like it, not like if I was ever going to pay for an EA game again anyway.

Well, you've got a point there.

 

[Swolf712]

I like it, not like if I was ever going to pay for an EA game again anyway.

-stares off at Dead Space Remake, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age-

Alas, I cannot commit to the same.

 

[Swolf712]

And now, this.

Skate 4 Data Mine Finds Loot Boxes Despite Developers Saying Otherwise

Data mine reveals a new loot box mechanic present in the new Skate game in the form of "Swag Bags", which is basically randomized clothing.

exputer.com

 

[Themaskedcrag]

And now, this.

Skate 4 Data Mine Finds Loot Boxes Despite Developers Saying Otherwise

Data mine reveals a new loot box mechanic present in the new Skate game in the form of "Swag Bags", which is basically randomized clothing.

exputer.com

To anyone surprised by this, I raise you BF2s loot boxes.

 

[ethomaz]

Not a jab at the game at all.

But when I read crossplay my interest drops to 0.

 

[Themaskedcrag]

Not a jab at the game at all.

But when I read crossplay my interest drops to 0.

Probably will be optional, but still I know what you mean. It's almost as if, when your developing for PC and console on an online game, you need to spend half your budget on a decent anti-cheat solution.