This legendary game series just made its big return after 15 long years — but I’m sorry to say there’s bad news for Steam players

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The popular Skate video game series, owned by Electronic Arts (EA), is coming back after a long hiatus. It’s been 15 years since the last main installment, Skate 3, came out in 2010, and five years since EA first announced they were working on a new Skate game.

The new skateboarding game isn’t called Skate 4, likely because fans had been playfully spamming game showcases with “SKATE 4???” for years. Instead, it’s simply called skate., and it’s a free-to-play game that’s constantly updated with new content. It launched in Early Access on Tuesday for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC (via Steam, Epic Games, and EA), PlayStation 5, and PlayStation 4.

The game is designed for multiplayer experiences. When it launches, players will explore a huge city called San Vansterdam, where up to 150 people can play together on a single server. They can skate around freely, complete tasks, or try out unique challenges, either with others or on their own.

The game builds on the well-loved Flick-It control system from previous Skate titles, giving players even more precision when landing tricks. Realistic physics make skateboarding feel authentic, and you can play with friends on any platform thanks to full crossplay and continue your progress seamlessly no matter where you play.

While fans are thrilled to have the Skate series back, there’s a significant downside Steam players should be aware of: the game doesn’t currently work with the Steam Deck.

Developer Full Circle has stated that the game *skate.* is not compatible with the Steam Deck. They also confirmed it won’t run on macOS or Linux, which is the operating system the Steam Deck uses.

It’s disappointing for Steam Deck owners who were hoping to play the new *skate.* game, but it wasn’t unexpected. *Skate.* relies on EA’s anti-cheat software, which requires a deep level of system access that doesn’t work with the Steam Deck’s Linux-based operating system. Because of this, any game using that type of software won’t be playable on the device.

Full Circle, the developer of skate., has stated that the game is not compatible with the Steam Deck, as noted on the game’s PC requirements page.

Here’s some good news for players: skate. will still work on Windows gaming handhelds such as the ASUS ROG Ally, Xbox Ally, and Lenovo Legion Go. Plus, the Steam version of the game is fully native, meaning it runs directly within Steam without needing any other programs or launchers.

Just a heads-up: the Early Access version of the game doesn’t currently support mouse and keyboard – you’ll need a controller to play (an Xbox controller is a good choice!). The developers are planning full support for upscaling technologies, and while some options like AMD FSR and Intel XeSS are already available, NVIDIA DLSS will be added later.

It’s only been a few hours since the game launched, so it’s hard to get a clear picture of how people are reacting. Currently, it has a “Mixed” rating on Steam, with half of the user reviews being positive and half negative.

Many fans are just excited to see a new Skate game, but some aren’t thrilled with the cleaner, less gritty look compared to older versions. Other players have pointed out missing features and problems with the servers on launch day, but those kinds of issues are pretty common with games that are still in early development.

I’m optimistic that *skate.* will get much better as the developers continue working on it. The team at Full Circle has said this Early Access version is really just the beginning – they plan to add new features, improvements, events, and seasonal content regularly. They’re aiming for a complete, finished version of the game in about a year.

Things are still subject to change as the game develops, but the good news is it’s free to play, so you can try it out without any cost.

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2025-09-17 00:17