Is Skate 4 Coming To Xbox Game Pass?
Skate 4 isn’t actually coming to Xbox Game Pass, and I’m not gonna lie the news might sting just a little for anyone hoping to drop in for free via their subscription. Instead, what EA and Full Circle have done is make Skate (yeah, it’s officially just “skate.” now no sequel number, just vibes) launch as a free-to-play, game-as-a-service skateboarding beast.
No Game Pass required, but also, no Game Pass benefits, which feels like winning a pizza party but only getting breadsticks.
Look, if you’re like me and your Game Pass wishlist is mostly a wild mix of grungy reboots and the occasional indie darling, you’ve probably been waiting ages for Skate’s comeback. Early Access hit on September 16, 2025, and honestly, the excitement online was palpable. People were comparing it to that giddy feeling when you finally land a kickflip that’s mostly luck, barely skill. But then the reality set in: you can boot it up on Xbox Series X|S or Xbox One just not through Game Pass. It’s free, though, so at least you’re not blowing the weekend’s pizza money or getting hit with those “game locked behind a paywall” blues.
EA’s choice here is pretty interesting. The company has been leaning into these “games as a service” models lately. I mean, the city of San Vansterdam (great name, right?) in Skate is a huge, constantly evolving hangout spot, and the mechanics are designed for always-online play. You hop in, you grind rails with randoms or friends, and you keep earning fresh gear no need for Game Pass, just your Xbox account. I’ve seen a couple of my more obsessive skater friends bursting in the group chat about the cross-play and cross-progression. One of them legit set up an alert to remind him when servers went live. Passion, or just too much caffeine? Bit of both, probably.
Let’s be real: Game Pass is awesome, but it’s not everything. Sometimes, a big publisher upends expectations, and that can be a good thing for the community. True story the last time I tried a free-to-play game out of sheer boredom, I ended up dumping more hours into it than the supposed “premium” stuff stacked up on my console. If Skate can pull off the same addictiveness while letting everyone play Game Pass or not that’s actually a win.
So, if you were Googling “Skate 4 Xbox Game Pass” hoping for a quick “yes,” the answer is “nah,” but the doors are open for anyone to skate, flip, and bail no subscription necessary. Sometimes you get the ramp, sometimes just the rail, but hey, sometimes that’s all you really need.
