This week, Tony Hawk announced thatActivision Blizzardhas something in the works for the 25th anniversary of theTony Hawk’s Pro Skaterseries. The first game launched on PlayStation all the way back on June 13, 2025, so that quarter-century milestone is fast approaching.Hawk said that he’s “been talking to Activision again"and that they’re working on “something the fans will truly appreciate.” Though I feel a little bit like Charlie Brown with the football, this still gives me hope.
Can Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater Return?
Activision Blizzard once again has the opportunity to choose to be a different kind of company than it has proven itself to be over the years. The publisher released Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 back in September 2020. The remake enjoyed the series’fastest-ever sales, gotgreat reviews, and was beloved by fans. Developer Vicarious Visions wasplanning to roll right into a remake that would collect Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and 4 but, instead, Activision Blizzard turned Vicarious Visions into Blizzard Albany, and assigned it to work as a support studio for the Diablo franchise.
This is Activision Blizzard’s modus operandi. Studios can either develop service games (Overwatch) designed to be supported and, more importantly, profitable for years after launch, or they can develop annualized games (Call of Duty) that will sell like gangbusters and be replaced with newer, equally profitable installments the next year. It wantsWorld of Warcraftsor CoDs, and it has repeatedly demonstrated that it doesn’t care about all that much else.
Despite the success of theSpyro Reignited Trilogyand the critical (if not massive commercial) success ofCrash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, Activision Blizzard turned its developer Toys for Bob into a Call of Duty support studio and laid off 89 of its employees. That’s nearly half of the 180 workers the studioreportedlyemployed in 2021.
Activision Blizzard Favors Bigger Games With Longer Tails
Toys for Bob gained its independence from Activision Blizzard in May, and is now working with AB parent companyMicrosoftto publish an independently developed game. Who knows what actually happened behind-the-scenes, but the optics are that Activision Blizzard is so hostile to smaller, single-player games that Toys for Bob had to leave the corporate structure and make a deal with AB’s parent company in order to keep making the games it wanted to.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater’s anniversary is a chance to turn things around. Activision Blizzard doesn’t have to only make video games that have the potential to earn a billion dollars. It can take some of the capital it earns through Call of Duty and pour it into smaller games that attract different players. A new Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater game, or even the resurrection of that 3 + 4 remake, would be an easy way to show that it actually cares about players who aren’t interested in games as a service.
And look, this isn’t asking for much. Should it really be this difficult to get new games in a popular series? Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater is a historically huge franchise, and the most recent entry sold faster than any before it. I’m not begging Activision Blizzard to fund something weird likeClickoldingorNorco. I’m not even asking for an original IP with mainstream appeal. I’m merely hoping that Activision Blizzard attempts to see the value in making different kinds of games for different audiences. I’m asking for follow-ups to games that sold well and were beloved by fans. That this seems like a big ask is an indictment of Activision Blizzard’s business model.
