It was just earlier this year that Activision published Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4, a remastered collection of two of the best games in the skateboarding series. But now, after a fun video from Hawk himself, fans are once again begging for a Tony Hawk’s Underground remake to join the series’ slate of recent re-releases.
Over the weekend, Tony Hawk posted a short video on his personal Instagram page. In it, the skateboarding legend re-created the intro cutscene found in the original PS2-era Tony Hawk’s Underground. Here’s the short video:
In the video, Hawk can be seen taking on the role of the player-created character, even wearing a similar outfit to the one sported by the default character. Using some nice editing, Hawk interacts with the game’s popular villain, Eric Sparrow, even calling him a bully at one point. At the very end, Hawk leaves and jokes, “Whoa! I can get off my board?!”, a reference to the fact that in THUG players could, for the first time in franchise history, hop off their skateboards and walk around levels.
But before you get too excited and assume Tony Hawk is teasing some future Underground remake ala THPS 3+4, calm down. The video is marked as “Not a THUG promo.” Hawk also claims that the reason he created this short bit of nostalgia bait is to have some fun and celebrate Video Games Day.
“In hopes of bringing some joy to your timeline: Happy Video Games Day from E.S. and me,” posted Hawk on Instagram.
And like, yeah, I get that he’s trying to make it clear this isn’t a teaser, but of course, the internet is going to internet. Many are already assuming or hoping that this Instagram post is actually the first bit of marketing for a full-on Tony Hawk’s Underground remake. And while I do think a Tony Hawk’s Underground remake is coming one day, I do believe Hawk here, and this is just him having fun with fans. The famous skater has said in the past that he would love a THUG remake, but made it clear that he doesn’t get to make that call. It’s all up to Activision, and considering the five-year gap between THPS 1+2 and THPS 3+4, I’d suggest fans go play THUGPro or something else while they wait for a THUG remake, because it’s likely many years away.