Skate 4's development team has pushed back against a report claiming loot boxes were added to its most recent beta.
Earlier this week on January 25, Insider Gaming claimed knowledge of Skate's latest internal beta. The outlet claimed that loot boxes had been added to the most recent beta for the forthcoming game, and that playtesters had allegedly pushed back against the new system.
Today on January 26 though, the official Skate Twitter account published the tweet seen just below, reminding followers of developer's pledges from last year. Among the four pledges is the mention of no paid loot boxes, which seemingly pushes back against Insider Gaming's recent report.
a reminder of some of the things we shared in episode 1 of The Board Room last year. 👇 https://t.co/lxgQsZ8yVG pic.twitter.com/KcTMI0FxnGJanuary 26, 2023
The video that the tweet above points to was originally published in July 2022, giving viewers an insight into the ongoing development of the new Skate. The video pledged to viewers that there would be no pay to win system, no map areas locked behind paywalls, no paid loot boxes, and no paid gameplay advantages.
However, it's worth noting that Insider Gaming's report never explicitly stated that the loot boxes would be paid for with real world money. The report instead claimed that the loot boxes would be obtained using an in-game currency called Stars, which itself can be earned by performing tricks and completing challenges in Skate.
As such, it's technically possible that the Skate development team have kept to their original pledge by not including paid-for loot boxes, if the loot boxes Insider Gaming refers to are all earned in-game. EA did recently confirm that Skate 4 would be free-to-play, so there's precedent there at least for loot boxes.
For all the games confirmed to be launching this year, head over to our full new games 2023 guide.
