The Biggest Question About Skate’s Soundtrack: Will Ska Return?

What’s the most important thing that EA’s new Skate game needs? Contrary to popular belief, polished gameplay and fun environments aren’t at the top of the list, because that’s a spot reserved for the soundtrack. If we’re talking sub-genres within the playlist itself, then naturally, we have to know just how much of it is reserved for the best music to power a kickflip: ska. So just how much ska is in Skate? That’s a question Skate’s developers aren’t quite ready to answer yet, although they are tooting their horns about the game’s upcoming release on PC and console.

“I know ska is really polarising. I love Ska, I love Rocksteady (another genre of music), so I don’t know how to answer this. I’m also bad at math, so I’m going to say it won’t be a high percentage but I won’t rule out ska being on the soundtrack,” senior creative director Deran Chung said to VideoGamer. Skate head of creative Jeff Seamster added that the game definitely features “some” ska, which might be reason enough to grab your old Mighty Mighty Bosstones T-shirt out of your cupboard and dust off your Reel Big Fish CDs.

Of course, you’re free to have as much ska as you want while playing, thanks to the integration of streaming services on console and PC. Pull up a playlist of Fishbone and Madness on Spotify, and you’re good to go.

After a couple of years in development, Skate launches in early access for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S on September 16. This new incarnation of the series is a free-to-play live-service game from developer Full Circle, a studio that includes series veterans such as Deran Chung and Chris “Cuz” Parry. Set in the fictional city of San Vansterdam, the developer is placing a big bet on fostering a community of players for the next era of Skate.