After many years worth of comments from fans asking “where’s Skate 4?” EA has announced a follow-up to its venerated skateboard sim franchise. But according to EA CEO Andrew Wilson the decision to bring back Skate wasn’t just because of the comment alone, but also because EA sees an opportunity to integrate modern trends like “user-generated content.”
During a fireside chat with investors on Monday, Wilson spoke about the surprise Skate announcement during the EA Play Live event last week. He revealed that the announcement broke EA’s Twitter engagement record, showcasing the enthusiasm from fans for a new Skate game.
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“You take a game like Skate, and while skateboarding in and of itself has tremendous appeal to a huge, global audience, there’s another secular trend that’s happening inside our industry around user-generated content, open-world, and interaction,” Wilson said.
Wilson shared a story about skateboarder Nyjah Huston who started as a skateboarder but now has a brand that includes fashion and art. “So for many people, you think about skating as a starting point that has appeal, but you start to build in user-generated content, exploration, and community on top of that and that expands the opportunity exponentially.”
While the new Skate is still “very early” in development, Wilson’s comments highlight some potential directions for the new Skate title. Players can likely expect customization options and possibly a chance to fill the open-world with user-generated content.
EA didn’t release a trailer for the new Skate, instead, EA presented series producers Deran Chung and Chris ‘Cuz’ Parry to announce that development has started. Other announcements from EA Play include in-depth gameplay reveal for Star Wars: Squadrons and a teaser for next-gen games. EA also announced seven games for the Nintendo Switch.
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Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN.
Source: IGN.com Skate Sequel Will Potentially Focus on User-Generated Content