Players have asked EA for years to bring back the Skate series, and four years ago, EA finally answered those prayers with the official confirmation that the skateboarding series would indeed be coming back. Four years later, we know that was just an announcement at the time and that this new Skate game was only beginning its development when EA confirmed the series' return. But now that we're approaching its early access release sometime this year, we're learning more about it, and the latest bit of confirmed news is one that definitely won't go down well with fans. Spotted by Eurogamer, developer Full Circle confirmed that the new Skate game will not have an offline mode. You'll always need to be online and connected to the game's servers when playing. In an FAQ section towards the bottom of a new blog from Full Circle, the studio bluntly answered the question about an offline mode. "The simple answer: No. The game and city are designed to be a living, breathing massively multiplayer skateboarding sandbox that is always online and always evolving. You'll see bigger things evolve, like changes to the city over time, as well as smaller things, like live events and other in-game activities. In order to deliver on our vision of a skateboarding world, the game will always require a live connection." It's disappointing news for veteran fans of the series, many of whom likely don't want to be bothered with the live service elements of the new Skate game. They were just looking to spend hours enjoying the skateboarding mechanics and feeling that only the Skate series provided back when the original trilogy was in its heyday. While this new Skate game will launch in early access later this year, Full Circle also confirmed that more than 200,000 players have already gotten the chance to check it out in the game's closed alpha test that's been running since September 2024. If you want to join that number, you can still sign up for the playtest and hope to be selected. There's also always the hope that Full Circle will run an open beta ahead of the early access release closer to the launch. Deal of the Day