Skate Early Access
Get ready to drop into San Vansterdam — the new free-to-play skate. experience has officially launched into Early Access. Available now on PC and consoles with full cross-platform support, the game is already evolving. / EA.com

With Early Access officially underway, fans of skate. can finally drop in and see what's new. The developers have revealed the first major update, which includes a long list of bug fixes, special rewards for those who joined the Insider program and a complete overhaul of the progression system.

This is just the beginning for skate., and these changes are a clear sign of what's to come.

The new free-to-play skate. experience from Full Circle and EA is officially here, having launched into Early Access on 16 September. Players can now download and start playing this latest chapter on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5 and PC.

The Ride Begins

As a free-to-play title with full cross-platform and cross-progression support, the game makes it easy for newcomers and longtime fans to jump in and ride together.

Moreover, players can explore the ever-evolving city of San Vansterdam, a new social world shaped by skateboarding, self-expression and community, where the legendary Flick-It controls have been refined for a new generation.

Discover San Vansterdam

Skate. takes you to the vibrant and ever-evolving city of San Vansterdam. This dynamic social world is an online playground where no two days are alike and new experiences are always around the corner. You'll join up to 150 other players on the server as you become part of the city's burgeoning skate culture.

'We're thrilled to welcome everyone to San Vansterdam and the best skateboarding the franchise has ever delivered', said Mike McCartney, Executive Producer of skate.

'We've focused on perfecting the core skateboarding experience — capturing the thrill of discovery, individual creativity and the satisfaction of finally landing that insane trick. Early Access isn't a regular launch; it's an invitation to help shape skate.'s future as we continue to build and push the boundaries of what this game can be', the top executive added.

The beloved Flick-It controls are back, now more refined and responsive than ever. You can manipulate physics to experience those 'only in skate.' moments, or for the first time, you can get off your board to explore on foot, climbing to discover new secret spots at every height across the city.

As players begin to explore San Vansterdam, the first major update, patch 0.27.7, is already live, bringing several key improvements and new features to the experience.

Patch 0.27.7: What's New?

When it comes to the Skate. Insider program, EA confirmed that Insider Rewards will start rolling out this week for everyone who registered. Players will need to check the account they used for the playtest to get the exclusive Insider deck and a pack of Insider deck stickers.

An Overhauled Progression System

EA also noted that their Insider Preview showed players advancing through the game quickly, which led the team to take a closer look at the progression system and adjust how quickly experience points are earned.

The update brings a myriad of key changes to this system:

  • Any XP gained per drop has now been removed.
  • XP is no longer earned from items acquired by ranking up in neighbourhoods.
  • All XP gains from drop items have been standardised to 50 XP, regardless of rarity.
  • The XP rewards from Market Mile mission items have been rebalanced.

Over 30 Bug Fixes

A significant number of bugs have also been addressed in the update, with over 30 issues resolved. The developers fixed several progression issues, including the 'Complete The Line' mission, and patched various stability problems to prevent crashing.

Here are some of the other notable fixes:

  • Issues with party invites for Throwdowns have been resolved.
  • Performance issues related to items dropping quickly have been resolved.
  • Several text and localisation issues throughout the game have been corrected.
  • Thumbnail problems in the Create-A-Skater menu have been addressed.
  • A flickering shadow in the two cinematics has been fixed.
  • Various character gesture problems have been resolved.
  • A bug that allowed players to get stuck under the map has been patched.
  • The 'Err' notification has been fixed.
  • PC players are now able to turn off friend request notifications.
  • An issue where players in spectate mode could see and hear other skaters, even though those skaters were invisible in normal gameplay, has been fixed.
  • A bug that made a party behave as if a member was still in it after they left has been resolved.
  • The Founders' Edition visual bug, where the info panel showed crossed-out pricing even for players without EA Play, has been fixed.

Some CDN image resizes have been implemented to improve performance on Gen 4 consoles, especially on Xbox One.

Looking Ahead to Season 1

While Early Access brings a host of fixes, there are still some known issues that the team is working hard to resolve. These will be addressed and ready for Season 1, which is coming with Update 0.28.0 in a few weeks.

'skate.'s Early Access is just the beginning; the game will continue to evolve alongside the player community, with new content and features planned throughout Early Access and beyond', EA said in a press release.

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