EA’s next entry in the Skate series has been announced as a free-to-play live service game, which means it will almost certainly feature microtransactions and some type of Season Pass. Though these features are often only associated with highly competitive multiplayer games, Skate is adopting the features in an attempt to expand its player base and eliminate the need to create more entries in the series.
It is a bold move by EA to introduce microtransactions into a game series that has never featured them before, and into an industry that widely views the idea of having to pay extra money for content as poor gaming etiquette. However, Skate does have an advantage when it comes to these new services because the series only features cosmetic unlockables, so there is no chance for any players to “pay-to-win” in the game’s multiplayer. What's more, because the world of skateboarding is so vast and ever-growing, the sheer amount of unique content could be enough for players to want to unlock more gear for their skaters.
How a Season Pass Could Work in Skate
Unlike other games with Season Pass systems, Skate’s multiplayer is not viewed as very competitive nor does it have many of the other stipulations that dictate how players can progress through the Season Pass. There are, however, a few different game modes that do allow for friendly competition between skaters and could act as the basis of some progression challenges.
Though it is unclear if Skate will feature a traditional Season Pass, its single-player mode will likely have to follow a similar progression system and should still allow players to participate in challenges offline to give them the incentive to purchase the pass and continue to unlock content. Fortunately, Skate’s single-player progression system is already based on completing challenges with the rewards usually being cosmetics and gear, so a live service feature would only add to the amount of content and likely create more unique challenges and consistently update unlockables.
Previous iterations of Skate’s multiplayer have allowed players to challenge others to games of S-K-A-T-E which requires players to match each other's tricks exactly. Other competitive events in Skate are Jam Sessions, Death Races, and Hall of Meat challenges, the last of which is unique to the series and is also a creative change of pace from usual event, as it challenges players to bail spectacularly. All of these types of competitive games would likely fuel Skate’s Season Pass, but the series does also have unique challenges that could add more variety to the progression system.
Skate features challenges called Own the Spot, in which players must perform a specific trick or obtain a minimum score in order to effectively claim the spot. More recent renditions of this challenge have allowed players to challenge each other online to see who can come up with the most creative and effective trick to own the spot. Skate2 also gave players the ability to create a spot that opened up any location to be used for the challenge and allowed players to customize the environment to create a more interesting trick or sequence. Though the feature was notably absent in Skate 3, it does have a lot of potential for creativity in online play and challenges for Skate’s Season Pass.
Why a Season Pass Would Benefit Skate
Skateboarders, in general, pride themselves on their creativity and style. Skate has embraced the style of skateboarding by featuring a wide variety of different cosmetic options and brand-name gear for players to choose from to create their own unique style. Though each new title in the series did introduce more gear and customization options, the list of skateboarding content is almost never-ending, so taking a live service approach that will continually update the gear fits perfectly into the game.
Skate has always encouraged creativity and the newest entry also seems to be accepting a lot of fan suggestions to better the game, as the pre-alpha footage shows many player suggestions influencing the game. The cosmetics will likely take a similar approach and many of the options added to the game through the live service will likely be because the community made a suggestion that the developers agreed would make a good addition to the game.
Many games that have a Season Pass are looked down upon for inconsistent challenges and lack of creativity or new content. These types of games often have a difficult time continuously creating new content that is worth players making additional purchases to obtain. Skate’s fresh new approach has the potential to break this cycle and create a Season Pass that contains challenges that are unique to the series and unlocks content that is worth the player's time and effort.
Skate is currently in development.