Skate has grabbed 15 million players in only three weeks as it rolls its way into Season One today

One of the most pleasant surprises of the past couple of weeks has been Skate. If you’ve been around gaming for a while – which I, ahem, have – then you’ll know Skate from the days of the Xbox 360 and PS3, where it went board to board with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater by offering a completely different take on the sport and the skateboarding scene. Many had assumed that Skate 3 – released 15 whole years ago – was the end for the series, especially with the shuttering of developer EA Black Box, but just like any skateboarder whose face has felt the cool touch of tarmac, you can’t keep a good game series down. The new version of Skate ten, has just arrived in Early Access, and with the launch of Season One today, the team at Full Circle have announced that the game has already seen 15 million players hitting the sidewalks of San Vansterdam.

That’s a hell of a lot of people. And with good reason too, since the move to Free-To-Play has made this the most accessible skateboarding game we’ve ever had. Even if you only have the most passing interest in skateboarding – perhaps you watched Lords of Dogtown with Heath Ledger in back in the day and thought it was pretty cool – there’s literally no reason not to download the new Skate and check it out. That certainly seems to be what people are doing too, as the player numbers have soared in only three weeks.

I’ve spent some serious time in San Vansterdam already, and really enjoyed this initial foray into Early Access in my review, stating, “I’ve been waiting for Skate. Tony Hawk’s frantic take on the sport is cool, but it doesn’t feel as good as this. The freedom, the variety, and the community are already in place, the only thing missing is you.”

Season 1 launches today with all-new skateable areas, Challenges, Tasks, seasonal events, new brand partners, cosmetics, quality of life improvements and more.