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Skate 4 Will Have 100 Songs And Support 150-Players Lobbies
Game Updates

Skate 4 Will Have 100 Songs And Support 150-Players Lobbies

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The next Skate game from EA, which is often called Skate 4 online by fans, is set to arrive via an early access launch later this year. And in a new blog from the devs behind the reboot, we learned that music is a big part of the upcoming skateboarding game and that a whole lotta people will be able to play it together online.

This new Skate game was first officially announced all the way back in June 2020. And over the years, the game has leaked numerous times while EA has also released official early footage of it and brought in fans to playtest it. The development of Skate (which is not called Skate 4 for some reason) has been remarkably transparent, and as part of this, developers Full Circle have released regular blog posts sharing new details about the reboot. And in the latest one, the devs shared a bunch of information on how music–a very important part of any good skateboarding game–will work in Skate.

🚨We will be inviting all registered skate. Insiders to come playtest in July. Check your emails.

The latest build has improved textures and lighting, more challenges, and changes to our progression system. pic.twitter.com/fyjxtOj3qi

— skate. (@skate) June 17, 2025

In the most recent installment of “The Grind,” EA and Full Circle announced that Skate will launch with “about 100” songs. These songs will be grouped into different, themed playlists that will act like radio stations. Players will be free to like songs and create their own playlist of favorites. There will also be a playlist that will feature songs other players are listening to and liking, which will update over time. As for what kind of music to expect in Skate, Full Circle says the team is “focused on emerging artists” and that they included some “deep cuts” that the devs hope will help players “discover” new favorites.

EA and Full Circle also plan to add new songs to the game as it changes live-service seasons every three months. It also sounds like music that’s less popular with players might leave the game, but EA says it will make sure that the tracks you favorite and enjoy stick around in Skate “for longer.”

While losing music is a bit of a shame, I’m excited to hear devs promising regular music updates. With live-service games that players are expected to play for months or years, new music being added over time can help reinvigorate things. There are only so many times you can hear the same tunes over and over before starting to hate them. As someone who has played GTA Online for over a decade, trust me on this.

In the latest blog post, the devs also said that the team is aiming for about 150 players per server session. And yes, in case you forgot or weren’t aware, Skate is an always-online free-to-play skating game, so multiplayer is a big part of the equation. Over on Reddit, players who have been involved in playtesting have suggested that servers only supported 80 players during their time with the game, but that EA wanted to up that number to 150, which the blog confirms. 150 players is a lot, so hopefully Skate‘s open world is large enough to support all those skateboarding hooligans listening to music and popping kick flips.

Skate 4 aka the Skate reboot doesn’t have a specific release date yet, but EA says it will be available on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC via early access at the end of the summer.

 





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EA's upcoming Skate understands that the soundtrack is just as important as the gameplay, confirms over 100 songs
Game Reviews

EA’s upcoming Skate understands that the soundtrack is just as important as the gameplay, confirms over 100 songs

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When you think of skateboarding games, what is the first thing you think of? For me, it’s the music – whether it was being introduced to the impeccable drum work of Josh Freese in The Vandals’ Euro-Barge on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1, trying to get my voice as high as 3 Inches of Blood’s singer in Deadly Sinners in Tony Hawk’s Underground 2, or learning how to play Jack White’s part in Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine after hearing it in Skate, music is an integral part of these games.

The recent THPS 1+2 and 3+4 remasters understand this, and bring a nice mix of classic and modern music to the re-releases that (I think) represents what skate culture should always be about: honouring legacy and trying new stuff. EA’s upcoming Skate reboot seems to have got this brief, too, as today the publisher has announced that the game will have “over 100 songs” featured on the in-game soundtrack.

Back to the grind. | Image credit: EA

Pleasantly, these will vary from the likes of upcoming acts like Denzel Curry and Turnstile – yes, I know they’re four albums in, but they’re also only just breaking through to the mainstream – and more classic acts like MF Doom and Earth, Wind & Fire.

“[Skate will have] over 100 songs, with hits from emerging artists and deep cuts to help players discover new music as they skate through San Vansterdam,” reads a press release. “Each session stays fresh and high energy, and like San Vansterdam itself, the soundtrack will evolve with every season.”

Music licensing is a real pain for game developers; we’ve previously seen entire titles delisted from digital storefronts due to music licensing issues. By keeping the in-game track list fresh and changing it with the seasons, the publisher can better control what goes in and out of the game, and simply remove a track from rotation if the license expires. I think that’s also a better example of skate culture, to be honest: in my misspend adolescence in skate parks, I learned so much new, interesting music from listening to what the other skaters were blasting out of their crappy, battery-powered speakers hooked up to their iPods (I was just a bit too old for the boombox era, sadly).

So far, Little Simz and Skeggs are also mentioned for the soundtrack, but not a lot of other bands are confirmed yet. So that’s six out of – assumedly – 100 artists we’ve locked in. There’s plenty of scope for some really cool stuff to get in here. Just do me a favour, EA, and don’t include Lupe Fiasco’s Kick, Push. It’s been done to death at this point. If you want mellow, go for something like Brave Baby’s Plastic Skateboard, instead: it’s far better for those late night sessions on the concrete with your pals.



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Skate reboot "just months away" from launch, as playtests open up to all who register before end of June
Game Updates

Skate reboot “just months away” from launch, as playtests open up to all who register before end of June

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EA’s free-to-play Skate reboot is officially gearing up to launch into early access this “summer”, narrowing down its previous “2025” release window. But first, it’ll receive its “biggest playtest update” yet, which will be made available to all registered Insiders starting on 2nd July.


This latest iteration of Skate was formally unveiled in 2022 as an “authentic evolution” of the beloved skateboarding series, and is being developed by Full Circle, a studio specifically set up to work on the project. Its team – which includes original Skate creators Deran Chung and Cuz Parry – has been intermitently sharing progress reports since then, and select players have even been able to participate in early closed playtests.


Playtests were expanded to consoles at the start of this year (and were rapidly followed by microtransactions), and EA now says it’ll be opening playtests up to everyone, provided they’ve registered their interest before 27th June. This comes ahead of Skate’s “biggest playtest update yet”, which will pave the way for its early access release this “summer”.

Skate as it looked in playtests back in February.Watch on YouTube


Skate’s impending update is officially titled Update 0.27.0, and promises “upgrades, changes, fixes, and performance improvements”. EA goes into a little more detail in its blog post, but playtest participants can expect a visual overhaul, bringing the likes of increased environmental detail, improved lighting and shadows, better textures and effects, UI enhancements, and an increase in players per server to 150.


That’s alongside more missions and challenges – EA says players will now find over 140 challenges around the city of San Vansterdam – plus expanded character customisation options (including more hairstyles, gestures, and emotes), and overhauled progression and rewards.


EA’s blog post also contains answer to some frequently asked questions (no to keyboard and mouse support, yes to cross-progression, for instance), but the important bit is that anyone wanting to experience Skate’s impending playtest update on 2nd July will need to have registered as an Insider by 27th June, with access invitations set to go out in waves. Registration will no longer be available after this point, as Full Circle makes final preparations for Skate’s “summer” early access launch. It sounds like summer might be nearing its end by the time Skate arrives, however, given EA also says the game is now “just months away”.



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When you can play EA’s Skate in early access
Game Updates

When you can play EA’s Skate in early access

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Get your boards out chat because Electronic Arts has announced that Skate early access will arrive at the end of the summer for PlayStation, Windows PC, Xbox, and mobile users.

Early access will be a part of Playtest Update 0.27, which is set to roll out on July 2. Players who want access to early skate sessions around San Vansterdam should sign up as a Skate Insider by June 27 (and no later than June 27). Participating in the early access will give skaters access to exclusive rewards like dope skateboards, swag, and stickers for in-game use.

Elsewhere in the update, skaters will be treated to new and improved updates for Skate, including a revamped San Vansterdam, which adds more pedestrians, traffic, cars, graffiti, and additions that make the world feel more alive. Improvements have also been implemented to the game’s UI, giving it that Skate feel with more personality through sound effects, snappy animations, and more.

EA also announced that server player limits have been extended to 150 skaters, adding more missions and challenges and a new neighborhood known as the Market Mile. The new update also incorporates “big changes” to the character customization process that bring more freedom and individuality to the skater’s overall appearances with new hairstyles, emotes, gestures, “and even more to come down the line.”

Skate 4, now known simply as Skate (or as EA styles it, skate.), was first announced way back in 2020. The latest entry in EA’s skateboarding franchise had gone through numerous challenges over the years, with the developers even announcing that they were rebuilding the Flick-It system that has become synonymous with the skating sims and adding “flumping.”

Playtests for the game first began in 2022 and have been ongoing since then, with devs collecting data and feedback from skaters involved. All of that feedback has finally led us here. While Skate doesn’t have a concrete release date, players can look forward to possibly getting their hands on a version of the game in the early access period coming soon.



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Tony Hawk and Rayssa Leal on the Suburbia level
Product Reviews

‘The soundtrack to skate parks was punk rock music’: Tony Hawk on the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater soundtracks, and how they shaped a generation of videogame skate kids

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It’s difficult to think of games whose soundtrack had a bigger impact on an entire generation than the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series. Popular music had been a part of games for decades: Journey Escape for the Atari 2600 was a particularly weird example, and the use of Song 2 by Blur in FIFA: Road to World Cup 98 was iconic. But the Tony Hawk series was the first to use punk music in this way, and for many kids from the suburbs and the country, it was the first time they interacted with punk.

The structure of bite-sized two-minute levels was perfect for putting the music at the heart of the game as much as the skating was. The punk—or maybe hip hop or thrash—charging over each run became inextricably linked to skating, even for kids who had never touched a board or been to a park.

At the recent THPS Fest in Los Angeles, celebrating both the impending release of the new Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 remake and the legacy of the soundtracks in general, I spoke to some of the people involved with the music of the Tony Hawk games. Here’s what legends of skating and music had to say about their enduring legacy.


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For Hawk himself, all of his aims for the game came back to one thing. “I thought it was important to represent the culture of skating, and the culture of skating in my early days was early punk rock music. Then Activision’s music department wanted to keep it balanced with newer music as well, so they leaned in towards newer punk at the time, and it’s crazy to think that Goldfinger was ever new,” Hawk says, sitting in his trailer before the THPS Fest concert. “Also, just other sounds that represent skating, like hip hop. So the music was important to me, but I didn’t think it was going to be something that would be a standalone hit, in terms of people saying ‘Oh, we can’t wait to hear about the soundtrack to the game’.”

It’s coming full circle now

Steve Caballero

Those lofty expectations mean updating the soundtrack for Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 + 4 had added pressure—you’re updating something people view through almost 25 years of nostalgia goggles. This time Hawk was more involved in the soundtrack of his namesake. “I guess it’s a lot to live up to, but I am proud of all the soundtracks, including this new one. I had more input this time too, so I hope it lives up to the expectations.”

Steve Caballero was a pro skater featured as a playable character in the games and now, at the age of 60, his latest punk band Urethane has a song featured on the 3 + 4 soundtrack. When the original games were coming out he was in the privileged position of getting to pick songs for the soundtrack that would also feature in his skating video at the end of the game.

“Skateboarding is gnarly,” he says, “and so when you have a punk song driving a part, it flows really well. I just picked music that I felt would go with my video part. For number two I asked for Millencolin, and for 3 I brought Bodyjar from Australia. It’s coming full circle now because Bodyjar is back in Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 + 4 and we’re touring with Bodyjar this summer.”

Lupe Fiasco is the artist behind the most famous skateboarding hip hop track of all time: Kick, Push. It was first included on Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam, a departure from the Pro Skater and Underground titles. Now it’s being featured in a main Pro Skater soundtrack for the first time.

“It feels good,” Fiasco says. “Licensing companies are gonna license. You’ve got to let them do that when they want to do it,” he laughs. “No, Tony’s a homie. When Kick, Push first came out, he was one of the first skaters of note to invite me out to L. A. to perform it at one of the events, so this is kind of a full circle situation.”

Lupe Fiasco – Kick, Push (Official Video) – YouTube

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One of the striking things about these conversations are how down to earth all the skaters and musicians in the culture are. The godfather of freestyle skateboarding, Rodney Mullen invented a shocking number of tricks, including the kickflip—he also has a surprising air of humility given all his achievements. According to him, the soundtrack is one of the main reasons why the game was so successful.

People tend to find their music between the ages of, like, 9 or 10, up till 13 years old, and a lot of people found it at that time.

Tony Hawk

“They created something so enduring and special that it stood above everything else,” Mullen says. “I think the way that Tony included all of those bands and the music, the way that he reached outside culture—even if you didn’t skate, you appreciated the vibe. It conveyed the texture of what the culture is. Street art, everything else. All of it worked together to make it something distinct and different from anything that’s ever been done before. That’s why it’s lasted so long.”

Of course, as with all things that have significant impacts on culture, it’s not just the thing itself. It has to find the right people at the right time to have an effect, and Mullen posits that while having all the ingredients for success was important, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater was definitely in the right place at the right time. “There’s a magic era in all things, right? So much was happening in terms of music, everything.”

Goldfinger – Superman (Official Audio) – YouTube

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For what it’s worth, Hawk agrees that timing is why the soundtrack had the impact it did. “I think it introduced a generation that was impressionable. People tend to find their music between the ages of, like, 9 or 10, up till 13 years old, and a lot of people found it at that time. But they truly liked it, it wasn’t like it was just being forced upon them. But it was the same for me. I started skating when I was 10. The soundtrack to skate parks was punk rock music. It was Devo, Dead Kennedys, Buzzcocks, Black Flag, Agent Orange, and that’s what I heard while I was skating, and that’s what I associated with skating.”

While you can never go back and experience the things that changed you for the first time again, this golden age of remasters and remakes means the millennials who fell in love with this music and culture at the right place and the right time can revisit it. The expanded Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 + 4 soundtrack also means those now-middle-aged millennials can discover even more new music, while artists such as Caballero prove that we don’t ever have to stop finding and making new music.

With everything Y2K coming back in fashion again, perhaps a whole new generation of kids are about to fall in love with punk music through videogames.



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