Skate is rolling once more, in a surprise announcement at EA Play this year that the franchise is returning after a 10 year hiatus.
The popular skateboarding simulation game, which has been a long-standing title that has been requested for years, was "willed into existence" according to Cuz Parry, the creative director of Skate.
Parry is referencing the fact that the Skate series has been consistently requested for a revival by fans for years, with numerous campaigns requesting a new game in the series be released. This even includes half-hearted parody style campaigns, such as the stunt by the skateboarding park The Berrics launched in September 2016, which borrowed then candidate Donald Trumps election campaign slogan to "Make EA Skate Again."
"We have been waiting years, honestly, to make the right game, at the right time, with the right idea." said creative director Deran Chung.
The Skate franchise began in 2007, as an answer to Activision's venerable Tony Hawk Pro Skater series. Touted as a more realistic skateboarding simulation with a unique physics engine, and the "flick it" control system to create tricks, flips and combos while skateboarding across several large environments.
Skate became a popular title for EA, spawning two sequels in Skate 2 and Skate 3, and one spinoff title with Skate It, which was released for the Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS and iOS devices in 2008. The last release of the franchise was Skate 3, in 2010.
Both Parry and Chung had no gameplay footage or even logos of Skate to show at EA Play, indicating that the game is likely in the earliest stages of development. It is clear that Skate is likely not going to be released for current-gen systems, given how early in development the game appears to be.
As it stands, Skate has been revived again, and fans can rejoice as EA will no doubt share more information about the title in the future.