Skate releases new gameplay footage and progress update, detailing verticality and parkour that's "light years ahead of where we were in the previous game"

The latest entry in the Skate franchise just got a new teaser trailer and progress update during the Future Games Show, complete with new gameplay footage debuting parkour gameplay, open world systems, live service elements, and a tease of further news to come next week.

The footage itself was a broad precis of what players can expect, showing off a mixture of various gameplay clips from pre-alpha builds while the developers of studio Full Circle explained elements of what was to come. Perhaps most immediately eye-catching are, ironically, the moments where players were not on boards, as we see characters climbing, parkouring over rooftops and swinging from bars, suggesting that the series' growing focus on traversal is getting a new lease on life here.

Wishlist Skate on Steam now

"In Skate 1 you couldn't get off your board, in Skate 2 you could walk around, in Skate 3 the walking around got a little bit better," explain the devs, putting the changes into a historical context. "We're light years ahead of where we were in the previous games, and now you can climb, and now you can swing, and now you can combine all of these systems together."

But clearly that doesn't mean that skating has been forgotten. The verticality of the maps will apparently be improved, with an open philosophy that assumes players can get to any location or rooftop and will have fun, skateable geography waiting there accordingly. Not only that, but the open world will be a live service multiplayer one, with players apparently existing in servers alongside each other for a more seamless experience.

And finally, the video ends with a gleeful tease that "speaking of updates, we got a really big one coming your way, I think it's one you've been waiting for a long time, so stay tuned with us next week." A release date, perhaps...?

Whatever the case, until we hear otherwise Skate is currently planned for release at some point in 2025 for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X and S, Xbox One and PC.

If you’re looking for more excellent games from today's Future Games Show, have a look at our official Steam page.

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Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and Very Tired Man with a BA from Brunel University, a Masters from Sussex University and a decade working in games journalism, often focused on guides coverage but also in reviews, features and news. His love of games is strongest when it comes to groundbreaking narratives like Disco Elysium, UnderTale and Baldur's Gate 3, as well as innovative or refined gameplay experiences like XCOM, Sifu, Arkham Asylum or Slay the Spire. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at Eurogamer, Gfinity, USgamer, SFX Magazine, RPS, Dicebreaker, VG247, and more.