Skate tease shows that EA will keep gambling on showing games early

Skate 3
(Image credit: EA)

The new Skate teaser trailer arrived this week, giving us a glimpse at people reacting to the game off-screen alongside some impressive mo-cap work. This in and of itself is still exciting, proof that a new Skate is definitely happening, and self-aware enough to temper expectations by asking fans at the end to “roll with us”. But it also represents EA heading back to the roulette table, hedging their bets that showing a game early in development is better than letting fans get impatient. 

It's a move that brings no end of potential risks, but carries a potentially significant upside. While showing tease after tease may frustrate fans over a number of years, it does broaden the understanding of what actually goes into game development. Instead of players seeing a game announced and expecting to play it within 6 to 12 months, showcasing the development journey is arguably giving fans a better idea of just how demanding and challenging a game can be to make. Who knows, it may even give some players a great appreciation of the final product.

Rolling with it

Skate

(Image credit: EA)

This is a gamble EA has been making for some time now. In fact, we've seen them show off Dragon Age 4 in a teaser trailer and concept art over the past 2 years, Battlefield 2042 was first revealed in EA Play last year with a look at one very expressive soldier, and we know that another Mass Effect is coming thanks to a Bioware blog post. As EA Play Live continues to grow as a showcase of the people behind EA's games – as seen from the recent series of interviews in the run-up to their showcase – it feels like EA are also trying to highlight what goes into creating a game too. 

The caveat to all of this is simple: do players want that? Dragon Age fans are currently getting a constant drip-feed of animated trailers, CGI renders, and concept art teases to get them excited for the next game in the series, but at no point have they actually seen the thing. While this might mirror the fluid nature of game development – where concepts and designs will be pitched, scrapped, reworked, and might not even make the final game – it also means that players are left no closer to know what to expect from Dragon Age 4 than they were before it was first teased at the 2018 Game Awards. 

Dragon Age 4

(Image credit: BioWare)

There's also the fact that this approach is still marketing. Naturally, EA won't be keen on showing you the negatives of games development, which then risks creating a false impression of what it actually means to make a game. And, let's say a game does end up going in a different direction to the one that EA has spent months, or even years teasing, then players are left to fill in the blanks about what happened. It could lead to unnecessary confusion or becoming Twitter's focus for the day – a fate I wouldn't wish on anyone. 

Now, none of this isn't to say that Skate isn't going to absolutely shred. I can't wait to see what a new Skate game will look and play like when it's ready, and I was sold the second I saw a quick glimpse of Noah Lennox (aka Panda Bear from Animal Collective, whose Summertime Clothes is the best song on the Skate 3 soundtrack, no further questions) in the trailer. Still, the waiting game is one most people would rather not play, and with EA regularly drawing it out for its big hitters, it's long-term teasing could leave fans irritated rather than excited. 

Ben Tyrer
Contributor

Ben Tyrer is a freelance games journalist with over ten years experience of writing about games. After graduating from Bournemouth University with a degree in multimedia journalism he's worked for Official PlayStation Magazine as a staff writer and games editor, as well as GamesRadar+ (hey, that's this website!) as a news editor. He's also contributed to Official Xbox Magazine, Edge, PC Gamer, GamesMaster, PC Games N, and more. His game of the year - no matter the year - is Rocket League.

Read more
Dragon Age 2
Veteran Dragon Age dev says one big delay is better than several small ones: "You are laying band-aid on top of band-aid on top of band-aid"
Skate 4
The Skate reboot isn't even out yet, but it already has an EA specialty: microtransactions
GTA 6
While I'm hyped for GTA 6, my biggest fear is that it's already dated itself
Big in 2025 - Fable
Fable's reboot remains shrouded in mystery – but that's the most exciting thing about it
Baldur's Gate 3
Following Marvel Rivals layoffs, Baldur's Gate 3 publishing director says studios fail big games when they don't set expectations for players: "Under promise, over-deliver"
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
If Assassin's Creed Shadows' delay means lessons have been learned from Star Wars Outlaws, I say: let Ubisoft cook
Latest in Sports
FC 25
FC 25 Dreamchasers tracker and full UEFA promo guide
FC 25
FC 25 Season 6 Ladder Players list and how to unlock them all
WWE 2K25
WWE 2K25 locker codes guide to free MyFaction cards
Skate 4
The Skate reboot isn't even out yet, but it already has an EA specialty: microtransactions
Umaga is a key player in The Bloodline Showcase
How to unlock all wrestlers in WWE 2K25
FC 25
FC 25 FUT Birthday guide and full cards list
Latest in Features
Asssassin's Creed Shadows kusarigama
My favorite weapon in Assassin's Creed Shadows is also the most misunderstood
Imai Sokyu leads the tea ceremony in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows' tea ceremony quest is one of the game's best moments, but I wish Ubisoft would give us even higher stakes
Bloodborne
10 years on, Bloodborne remains an unmatchable feat of atmosphere thanks to the mind-boggling oppressive scale of Yharnam
Cropped key art for Revenge of the Savage Planet showing two player characters running away from lots of green goo, flanked by various googly-eyed wildlife
Revenge of the Savage Planet promises to be our next co-op favorite after Split Fiction: "It was really validating for us when we saw those games"
Naoe looks over at a dense, lush, green forest in Assassin's Creed Shadows from a viewpoint
"We don't want to force one terabyte of data on the players": Assassin's Creed Shadows' tech director on the clever tricks Ubisoft uses to "go beyond" current-gen
Kill Team: Blood and Zeal box on a wooden surface
Kill Team: Blood and Zeal pre-orders just went live, and I wish other Warhammer games were this weird