Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater has been rumored to be on the operating table of Activision to a point that the franchise could indeed be returning from the dead. While many fans of the skateboarding franchise were expecting a brand new installment, the publisher has apparently been working on something different.
Taking to Twitter earlier in the week, well-known leaker TheGamingRevolution claimed that Activision has been working on a remastered version of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater instead. However, the leak refrained from mentioning as to which particular installment the publisher has been overhauling.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater has received five main entries to date: debuting in 1999 and stumbling in 2015 with a disastrous sequel that many critics labelled as an insult to the franchise. From the lot, the third installment released in 2001 easily stands out as the most popular and well-received one. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 was when the franchise reached a pinnacle of new gameplay mechanics, engaging stunts, incredible combo opportunities, and just a significant overall evolution. Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there.
Some Activision games in the works: Tony Hawk Proskater Remastered, Call of Duty 2020 (code-named PROJECT: ZEUS), MW2 Remastered, a F2P COD game from SHGames (2021 ETA), a PvP Crash game, Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex Remastered
— TheGamingRevolution (@TheGamingRevo2) March 12, 2020
Last November, another insider claimed that Activision had remade the first and second installments as prototypes for internal usage. The leak was corroborated by other third-party sources as well, suggesting even then that something was definitely cooking at Activision.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater Remastered should release at the end of 2020 or sooner. This release window is based on a recent slip where punk rock band The Death Set announced to have licensed five new songs to a new Tony Hawk game slated for 2020. The announcement was taken down soon after. In addition, professional skateboarder Lizzie Armanto stated last year that she would be appearing in another Tony Hawk game coming out soon.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater has been the epitome of skating games. The licensing deal, however, expired in 2015. Activision decided not to go with a renewal, while still owning all rights to the license. As such, Tony Hawk’s Skate Jam was released for mobile devices in 2018 but without any involvement of Activision. Based on the new rumors around remakes/remasters, the licensing deal has been renewed between the involved parties.
