If you weren’t aware, skateboarding has a bit of an aging problem. Yes, it’s true, and yes, I’m crying. Look around your local skatepark and you might notice it.

Oftentimes there are more graying slappy lovers than cheeto fingered runts at the park. More dudes talking about wheelbase than kids learning how to do a back 50-50 and not miss their front truck (iykyk).

And I promise this isn’t some baseless claim. Research from 2009 put the percentage of skaters under 18 at 70%. Want to know what that percentage is now? 39%, according to Sports Market Survey’s 2022 data.

So if kids aren’t skating, what are they doing? They’re getting sweaty grinding the sticks.

Pew Research, my GOATs of random studies, found that 85% of U.S. teens between 13 and 17 years old reported they played video games in 2024. Now I’m no statistician, but, uh, that’s basically all of them.

With that in mind you have to wonder, can Skate., the new video game from the developers of the legendary Skate trilogy, be part of the answer to how we get kids skateboarding again?

gameplay via ZexyZek

Video games have done it before. Tony Hawk Pro Skater (THPS), while coupled with other cultural influences, undoubtedly got kids skateboarding in the early 2000s. Similarly, Skate 1-3 at the end of that same decade.

But Skate 3 was released 15 years ago. And in that decade and a half long stretch, we’ve seen an explosion of gaming. Researchers at the Shenyang Sport University literally called virtual sports experiences, “the key to young peoples’ participation in sports.”

If video games are the key, skateboarding has been locked out of the house for far too long.

Dr. Daniel Kane of CUNY Kingsborough came to similar conclusions as the researchers of Shenyang. In a survey, he found that 87.13% of college students either strongly agreed or agreed that playing sports video games made them want to take part in the real life game.

I know this to be true too, because I played a year of hockey (in fucking Florida) because of NHL ‘11. Sure, it’s anecdotal, but following this line of logic, Skate. has the ability to create new skateboarders.

At the very least, it’s a way in the door, which is important for an activity that doesn’t have the traditional outlets other sports have to get kids involved and mainly markets towards an already “in the know” crowd.

Now, you might be on the couch thinking, “Fuck them kids, I love it when the skatepark is empty and I can practice my pivot fakies.” And I hear you, as I too enjoy an empty skatepark, but to lose a new generation of kids means you run the risk of more of your favorite board brands and videos throwing up the white flag.

I spoke to Nate Kaufman, a longstanding employee of Val Surf, right before the game dropped, and he brought reality to the situation. “We’ve had the worst eight to twelve months of business that I can remember in 20 years. And that’s what we wonder, like where are all these kids?”

popular streamer xQc playing the game

Our industry struggles when kids aren’t interested, because kids keep skateboarding relevant, which is an important aspect when you consider things like the success of businesses, the chances of a town building a skatepark, or simply keeping the activity going.

“It [skatepark/shop crowds] has fully turned into golf crowds,” said Nate, which contrary to what Eric Koston or Mikey Taylor might say through a plume of cigar smoke is not the future that skateboarding should strive for.

Getting back to the point here, in an industry that seems to have forgotten that kids are the most important demographic to capture, here’s a free video game with zero barrier to entry, geared towards kids with no knowledge of skateboarding, and it’s actually fun to play.

The ripple effect this could have on skateboarding is potentially huge, and even if it doesn’t get kids skating immediately, many kids will see skateboarding for the first time because of this game.

Ben Stoddard, a game developer and skateboarder who was integral in launching Skate 1-3, as well as the dope ass SSX snowboarding game, sees this as one of the biggest wins.

“It’s an exposure play. [Skate.] gets eyeballs on the act of skateboarding,” said Ben. “There are some of these streamers that are currently playing the game with hundreds of thousands of followers all around the world who are seeing skateboarding for the first time.”

That exposure is important for bringing in new participants, especially in a time where cross over moments are few and far between for skateboarding.

Back in the glory days, we had outlets like Viva La Bam, Fuel TV, Fantasy Factory, X-Games and more. All places kids could go to watch something entertaining, but also get exposed to skateboarding.

gameplay via t0m3k

Looking around the wider media landscape now, it’s barren. And as an industry with a desire to grow, we’re left to hope a skate clip goes viral online, or that Ishod Wair gets invited to go eat spicy ass wings with Sean Evans.

And yes, we do have the Olympics now, which put skateboarding into the screens of billions across the globe, but as Nate would put it, “That shit was boring. Like how many people watch figure skating and then sign up to figure skate?”

Skate., unlike the Olympics, doesn’t broadcast skateboarding as a sterile competition sport, and I really believe it has the potential for crossover into the mainstream. It may do this in ways “core” skateboarding doesn’t like, i.e. backflips, roof drops and emotes, but as Ben [Stoddard] would admit, “[Skate.] is basically a platform to make viral videos.”

And whether we like it or not, viral videos capture the attention of the youth. In a world without a prevalent monoculture, what’s your non-skate friend going to be hyped on? What’s your mom going to send you over Instagram DM? I guarantee it’s not going to be Quasi’s new video.

And that’s no knock to Quasi (sending you kisses Bobby B), but for skateboarding to hit a wider audience you need to break out of its insular, niche nature and into the bigger moments that drive conversation and culture.

At the end of the day, if kids download Skate. to do triple backflips so be it, because once they’re playing there’s a much higher chance they ask mom or dad for a real skateboard later. Which as we’ve come to find, some kids have already got their hands on daddies Amex.

“The last few weeks I’ve seen a pretty big increase in people either getting their first boards or getting back into it, and when asked what made them think about either getting into it, or back into it a lot of them have said the new Skate. game,” said Impact Skateshop in Bakersfield, CA.

An employee of Orchard Skateshop in Boston, MA, noticed it as well. “A handful of people have already come in to buy their first time setups or first setup in a long time because of the new game,” he said.

Dime Glory Challenge in game

While it’s too early to tell the complete ramifications of the game, this is exciting feedback one month after the game’s release. And it hypothetically could be just the start, as Ben would point out, “It can be an ecosystem that supports video premieres, supports an athletes board or shoe launch.”

Will it sustain, we’re not sure, but Skate. is already boasting that 15 million people have “dropped into San Vansterdam.”

That’s a big number, and while some are probably skaters already, there has got to be new faces in the mix. Which makes me optimistic, because if we know anything about the skateboard industry, it’s that everyone eats when non-skaters give a shit about our culture.

Consider the impact THPS had on a generation’s skateboarding knowledge. “People were listening to ska music, people were listening to Millencolin. They understood Venice Beach as a skate hub, or Burnside,” said Ben.

Skate. launched with Bad Religion, Dinosaur Jr., and Gang Starr on the game soundtrack. It included a recreation of Dime’s Glory Challenge. You can rock a Girl hat or skate a Santa Cruz board. These are aspects of skateboarding culture that kids playing the game are experiencing and interacting with.

Joe Monteleone, aka Joeface, who works for Dickies, put it this way, “[It’s the] Tony Hawk effect from ‘99 but in 2025.”

As fun a thought as this is, realistically recreating the magic of THPS will be extremely difficult or maybe even downright impossible for Skate. We’re in a different time, with a unique set of issues, and while the game is promising, it’s far from perfect.

gameplay via ipgames

I echo the complaints and agree that the Fortnite-esque graphics, grating rhetoric choices, and mindnumbing AI skate robot don’t represent the skateboarding that we know. Or that playing a skateboarding video game without the usual pro skater involvement might not be what you want.

But in reality, it’s a toy. You wouldn’t complain that a colorful plastic piano doesn’t accurately depict the rich history and culture of the ivory keys.

To fully play devil’s advocate, one could say the job of accurately representing and preserving our perceived “identity” and “core” isn’t for a video game. It’s for me, you, the skateshop employee, and the rest of skateboarding’s scaffolding that naturally teaches a new skater the rights and wrongs.

Like the original trilogy, Skate., to quote the games creative director Deran Chung, gives kids a chance to “just play in the sandbox.” It doesn’t narrow in on one specific definition of skateboarding, and just like the actual activity, you can do whatever the hell you want.

“That’s the beauty of skateboarding,” said Ben. In a world of health supplements, 40-year-olds on podcasts, and skaters who’d rather model than do demos, this game makes skateboarding look fun for the youth that the skate industry is having trouble capturing.

And while kids might be in for a rude awakening about skateboarding’s IRL difficulty, both you and I know that once the skate bug bites, you’re going to be itching for a long time.

Written by: Ben Komins
Header Illustration by: Michael Giurato
Share this with a gamer on Facebook
DM us a meme on Instagram and Twitter