It’s been over a decade since Skate 3 dropped. Ten years of Flick-it controls, Hall of Meat bails, and that specific, buttery-smooth momentum that Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater could never quite replicate. So, when Full Circle and EA finally announced they were working on a new entry—simply titled skate.—the hype was nuclear. But now that we’ve seen the playtests and the rollout strategy, a harsh reality is setting in. Honestly, skate. early access sucks for anyone who was expecting a traditional, premium sequel to the games we grew up with.
The transition to a Free-to-Play (F2P) model has changed everything. This isn't just about a game being "unfinished" in the way Baldur’s Gate 3 or Hades were in early access. It’s about a fundamental shift in DNA. The grit is being replaced by "live service" polish.
The problem with the "Forever Game" model
The most jarring thing about the new skate. is that it isn't trying to be a finished product you buy, play, and master. It’s designed to be a platform. In the developer diaries, the team at Full Circle has been very transparent about the fact that San Vansterdam will never be "done." While that sounds cool on paper—new spots every month!—it creates a fragmented experience.
Early access versions of the game feel sparse. It's a skeleton. Because the game is F2P, the progression systems are built around engagement metrics rather than just... having fun skating. You’ve got to unlock things that used to be standard. Remember when you could just pick a deck and go? Now, there's a heavy emphasis on customization that feels suspiciously like it’s being staged for a massive microtransaction shop.
The physics are also in a weird spot. If you’ve played the leaks or the official insider builds, you know it feels floaty. Skate 2 had weight. You felt the impact of a 10-stair. In the current early access builds, the gravity feels dialed back to make it more "accessible." It’s frustrating. It feels like they’re trying to please everyone and, in the process, losing the technical edge that made the original trilogy a cult classic.
Why San Vansterdam feels empty
A city in a skating game needs soul. San Vanelona had it. Port Carverton had it. San Vansterdam? Currently, it feels like a collection of "skate-able assets" dropped onto a map by an algorithm.
The social aspect is the main culprit here. Because skate. is leaning so hard into being an "MMO-lite," the world is populated by dozens of other players flailing around. It’s chaotic. It’s noisy. Part of the magic of the old games was the solitude—just you, a ledge, and a song by Dinosaur Jr. Now, you’re constantly bombarded by "Collab Zones" and pop-ups.
- Visual Clutter: The UI is busy. It's built for a generation that needs a notification every thirty seconds.
- The "Swarm" Effect: Trying to line up a technical trick while three other people are doing backflips over your head is a nightmare.
- Map Design: There's a lack of "natural" spots. Everything looks like it was built specifically to be skated, which actually makes it less interesting than finding a weird, unintentional gap in a realistic city layout.
Microtransactions and the F2P trap
Let's talk about the elephant in the room: the monetization. EA has promised that there will be no "pay-to-win" mechanics. No gameplay behind a paywall. That’s great. Really. But we’ve heard it before.
Even if they stick to cosmetics, the "skate. early access sucks" sentiment stems from how those cosmetics dictate the game's art style. Everything is a bit too loud, a bit too "Fortnite-ified." When the goal is to sell wacky hats and glowing wheels, the grounded, skate-culture aesthetic gets tossed out the window. You end up with a game that looks like a billboard for a digital clothing brand rather than a gritty simulation of street skating.
Comparing the "Early Access" experience
| Feature | Skate 1-3 (Launch) | skate. (Early Access/F2P) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $60 (Full Game) | Free (Live Service) |
| Physics | Weighted, realistic-ish | Floaty, arcade-like |
| Progression | Story & Sponsored Milestones | Battle Passes & XP Grinds |
| Offline Play | Fully supported | Always online (Mostly) |
The table above isn't just a comparison; it’s a eulogy for a specific type of game. The industry has moved toward recurring revenue. We get it. But for a franchise that was always about the feel of the board, turning it into a "service" feels like a betrayal of the mechanics.
Technical hurdles and the "Alpha" excuse
"It's just an Alpha!" is the rallying cry of every defender on Reddit. Sure. It is. But we’re seeing the foundation here, and the foundation is shaky. The performance in the playtests has been spotty, which is expected, but the netcode is the real concern. In a game where timing is measured in milliseconds—the flick of a stick to catch a kickflip—any amount of lag is a death sentence.
By forcing the game to be a massive multiplayer experience from day one, they’ve introduced a level of technical complexity that the physics engine struggles to handle. We're seeing weird clipping, board desync, and "ghost" bails where you fall for no reason. These aren't just bugs; they're symptoms of an engine being pushed to do something it wasn't originally designed for.
The loss of the "Skate" vibe
Skating is counter-culture. Or at least, it used to be. The original games captured that perfectly with their lo-fi soundtracks and slightly janky, handheld-camera replays. The new skate. feels... corporate. It feels like it was designed in a boardroom using a Powerpoint presentation on "Gen Z Engagement Trends."
The "Flick-it" controls are still there, thank god. That’s the saving grace. If the controls were gone, the game would be dead on arrival. But even the controls feel slightly simplified. The nuance of the "sweet spot" on the analog stick for certain grinds feels widened. It’s harder to mess up, which sounds good, but it actually lowers the skill ceiling. If everyone is a pro, then nobody is.
Is there a path to redemption?
It’s not all doom and gloom, though it’s hard not to be cynical. Full Circle is actually listening to feedback. They’ve gone back to the drawing board on several features based on playtester complaints. This is the one benefit of the early access model: the game isn't set in stone.
However, they can't "fix" the fact that it's a free-to-play live service game. That's the business model. That's the core. If you hate that, you're going to hate the final product.
To make skate. actually good, they need to:
- Tighten the physics: Give the board weight again. Make gravity a factor.
- Add "Private" Sessions: Let us skate the city alone or with just a few friends without the MMO clutter.
- Tone down the UI: Get rid of the mobile-game-style pop-ups and "streaks."
- Embrace the grit: Stop trying to make everything so bright and "vibrant." Skating is dirty. Let the game be dirty.
How to handle the wait
If you're frustrated with the current state of skate., you aren't alone. The best thing you can do is keep playing the older titles or check out the indie scene. Games like Session: Skate Sim and Skater XL have filled the void for those who want a hardcore simulation. They lack the polish and the "fun" factor of EA’s series, but they respect the player’s intelligence.
If you do get into the skate. playtests, be vocal. Don't just complain on Twitter—use the official feedback channels. The developers are literally asking for us to tell them why the experience feels off. If enough people shout about the floaty physics and the cluttered world, there’s a slim chance we might get something that resembles a true successor to Skate 3.
Actionable steps for the frustrated skater
- Revisit Skate 3 on RPCS3: If you have a decent PC, the PS3 emulator runs Skate 3 at 4K/60fps now. It looks better than the current skate. builds and plays exactly how you remember.
- Sign up for the Insider Program: Don't take my word for it. Sign up at the official skate. website and try to get into a playtest. Form your own opinion.
- Support the competition: Buy Session. It’s difficult, it’s frustrating, and it has a steep learning curve, but it honors the technicality of skating in a way a F2P game never will.
- Adjust your expectations: Stop thinking of this as Skate 4. It isn't. It’s a new platform called skate. Treat it like a spin-off, and the "early access sucks" feeling might hurt a little less.
Ultimately, we’re in a new era of gaming. The days of getting a complete, polished, single-player skating masterpiece from a AAA publisher are likely over. We’re getting a "service" instead. Whether that service is worth our time remains to be seen, but for now, the early access journey is proving to be a bumpy ride over some very rough pavement.