EA sale to Saudi group in June, Skate. Server shut down
Some players may not want to hear this, but with the impending sale of EA and widespread industry fallout with live service games and micros, this doesn’t look good for Skate. In case you’ve been living under a SV pizza box, skate. developer Full Circle announced a round of layoffs and restructuring a couple of months ago. Even Epic games and the mighty Fortnite laid off around 1000 people and announced that they were barely turning a profit. “But they just announced season 4!” technically they can keep doing work (given there is still funding) until the sale is complete and all contracts are signed with ownership turned over fully to the Saudi group. The only thing they stated was happening with Season 4 in that announcement was the change in environment lighting. Nothing substantial unlike Season 2 and 3’s announcements. Something’s fishy. For the already smart people that stopped buying silly micro-transactions, you have nothing to lose except that which you already own. If you are a player that continually doles out cash for that which you will never see a return on your investment, I would advise stopping now otherwise you will lose unspent dollars on in game currency. Game companies are required by law to announce 30 days in advance. If a game’s servers will go dark and you can track that announcement as it happens here: https://www.ea.com/legal/service-updates/r-z You’re welcome.
Supplementation (based on causal indications):
Aggressive Free-to-Play Microtransactions & Price Hikes
The standard microtransaction model—which relies heavily on selling virtual currency and Battle Passes—is triggering severe consumer fatigue.
- The Problem: In an attempt to counteract slowing player growth, companies have aggressively raised the prices of in-game currencies (such as Epic Games increasing V-Bucks pricing) and stripped bonus rewards from Battle Passes.
- The Fallout: Instead of driving revenue, these aggressive tactics have caused widespread community outrage, lower average player spending, and dropping engagement. Players are burning out from predatory, manipulative loops designed to extract money rather than provide enjoyment.