After years of waiting, Skate – widely known as Skate 4 – has finally rolled onto the scene. Full Circle and EA dropped the long-anticipated skateboarding revival into Early Access on September 16, 2025, marking the first mainline entry in the series in over a decade.
But the launch hasn’t gone smoothly at all. The community is already debating server crashes, missing features, and the constant online requirement, even though players are eager to grind rails once more.
A Long-Awaited Return
The Skate franchise has been dormant since Skate 3 released back in 2010. Fans have been clamoring for a follow-up ever since, and EA finally answered in 2020 when it confirmed that Skate was coming back under a new developer, Full Circle.
Fast forward to now, and the game is out in Early Access as a free-to-play title. It’s available on PC (Steam, Epic, EA App), PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series X|S. Mobile versions are also planned for the near future.
First Impressions: The Good
Players diving in say the core skating still feels solid. The trick system, physics, and flow of movement capture the series’ spirit. The sense of freedom that made the earlier games so great is restored by free-roam skating and imaginative park locations.
Additionally, cross-play and cross-progression are active from the start. This is a huge win for the community because it allows friends to skate together across platforms.
Early Stumbles: The Bad
Despite the excitement, the launch has hit a rough patch.
- Server Meltdowns: On day one, login queues stretched into the tens of thousands, and crashes were common. Some players couldn’t even get past the title screen.
- Always-Online Controversy: There’s no offline mode, and that has angered players who just want to free-skate without relying on EA’s servers.
- Missing Features: Fan-favorite modes like “Hall of Meat” aren’t included yet. Others criticize the art direction as “too clean,” lacking the gritty personality of earlier entries.
EA’s Roadmap for Fixes
Full Circle has promised a steady stream of updates to address these complaints.
- Season 1 (October 2025): New events, a skate.Pass (their take on a battle pass), and bug fixes.
- Seasons 2 and 3: Party voice chat, replay editor upgrades, expanded customization, and new tricks like Darkslides and Impossibles.
- Patches: Hotfixes are already rolling out to stabilize servers, squash bugs, and improve localization and UI.
The studio has also reassured players that while there will be cosmetic microtransactions, there won’t be any pay-to-win mechanics.
Why This Matters
For many fans, Skate isn’t just a game — it’s a culture. The original trilogy defined skateboarding games for a generation, offering an alternative to the arcade flash of Tony Hawk.
This new entry is EA’s chance to prove that a free-to-play model can coexist with authenticity. But if the servers keep stumbling or content gaps drag on, it risks alienating the very fans who kept the franchise alive for 15 years.
The Verdict So Far
Skate 4’s Early Access launch feels like a half-landed trick. The fundamentals are strong: the skating is fun, cross-play is welcome, and the roadmap is ambitious. But rough servers, feature gaps, and the online-only restriction have left a chunk of the fanbase frustrated.
If Full Circle can deliver on its promises quickly, there’s still plenty of time to turn things around. For now, the game is worth trying if you can push past the technical hiccups — but veterans hoping for a polished return may want to wait until the dust settles.
