The highly anticipated new Skate title from Electronic Arts, often referred to by its fanbase as Skate 4, is gearing up for an early access release later this year. A recent developer blog post reveals that music will play a significant role in the forthcoming skateboarding experience, and that the game will support a large number of online players.
The project was formally unveiled back in June of 2020. Throughout its development, leaks have surfaced on multiple occasions. EA has also shared official pre-release gameplay and invited community members to participate in playtesting. The development of Skate, (which is intentionally not named Skate 4) has been unusually transparent, with the Full Circle development team regularly releasing blog posts with fresh information. Their latest update centered on the integral role music will play in the new Skate installment.
🚨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
The latest installment of “The Grind,” reveals that Skate will launch with approximately “100” songs. The soundtrack will be divided into themed playlists, functioning like in-game radio stations. Players will be able to like tracks and create personalized playlists. There will also be a dynamic playlist showcasing songs favored and listened to by the wider player community. Regarding the music itself, Full Circle has said they’re focusing on “emerging artists” and including curated “deep cuts” with hopes that it will help players “discover” new music.
EA and Full Circle are planning to introduce new music to the game every three months with live-service season updates. Less popular tracks may rotate out, but EA has assured players that their favorited tracks will remain in Skate “for longer.”
Although the idea of losing tracks might be disappointing, I look forward to the addition of new music. For live-service titles designed for extended play, the introduction of new music keeps the experience fresh. There’s only so many times you can hear the same tracks before they get stale. And coming from someone who has played GTA Online for over a decade, trust me on that!
The new blog post also stated the team’s goal of accommodating approximately 150 players per server. As a reminder, the Skate reboot is a free-to-play, always-online title, so multiplayer is a central aspect of the game. User feedback on Reddit from playtesters mentioned that servers previously capped at 80 players. EA’s desire to increase server capacity to 150 has now been confirmed. Ideally, Skate’s open world will be large enough to handle a sizable community of players, all enjoying the music and performing tricks.
The Skate reboot, sometimes called Skate 4 by fans, does not currently have a specific release date, but Electronic Arts has stated that it is scheduled to arrive on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC via early access near the end of summer.