Skate fans, it’s almost time to go back to San Vansterdam. EA and developer Full Circle have announced that the next Skate playtest is coming in early July, and it’s arriving with a big visual upgrade.
As related in a new edition of The Grind, Skate’s new update 0.27.0 will coincide with the next playtest on July 2. Invites will be sent out in waves for players who are signed up as Skate Insiders before June 27. After that date, registration will be closed. The new update has dramatically improved lighting, shadows, and visuals for the city of San Vansterdam, as well as more environments, animations, sound effects, graffiti, traffic, and pedestrians.
Full Circle has increased the maximum number of players per server to 150, and adjusted the in-game map to show the locations of other players. New missions and challenges are available in the new playtest, as is the Market Mile neighborhood, and progression has been overhauled.
Full Circle also revamped the tutorial to introduce the city much sooner than it did before. As players level up, their in-game reward boxes will offer better prizes. Players who want to customize their characters’ appearances will see several new options for clothing, hair, gestures, and emotes.
The development team noted that it expects Skate to enter early access at the end of this summer. Full Circle recently revealed that because of the size of the city, Skate will require a constant internet connection to play.
Skate will be free-to-play on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC, but it doesn’t currently have a release date.
