Skate developer Full Circle has stated its upcoming reboot won’t have an offline mode.
This is because “the game and city [known as San Vansterdam] are designed to be a living, breathing massively multiplayer skateboarding sandbox”, and both are “always online and always evolving”.
According to a recent column by the developer, Skate players will notice changes to San Vansterdam itself as time goes on, as well as “smaller things, like live events and other in-game activities”. And, so the studio can deliver on its vision, Skate will “always require a live connection”.
Full Circle says this may not be a surprise to anyone who has been part of Skate’s playtest, but it may still be a surprise to those who haven’t been partaking. After all, the original games were offline. Then again, the Skate revival will be a free-to-play title on its release, so perhaps some were already expecting an online connection as standard.
In addition to chatting about the lack of an offline mode, the Skate team also addressed the playtest’s microtransactions. As reported in March, microtransactions were added during the game’s closed alpha test.
“We know that using real money during a playtest is a little unusual, but we think it’s the best way to properly assess and adjust the system before launch,” Full Circle said today.
“If you see prices or other things changing over time, please understand that this is normal. And of course, you will receive the amount you spent during playtesting in San Van Bucks (SVB) when we reset for Early Access launch.”
As to when we will all be able to get our hands on Skate, Full Circle remains committed to its 2025 early access release window, although it hasn’t shared a more specific date as yet.
This revival of EA’s Skate games was first announced back in 2020. On its eventual release, it will have cross-play and cross-progression support.