Skate developer going through mass layoffs as player base continues to dwindle: ‘I can’t believe they missed the mark so hard’

Well, it would seem that EA's revival of the Skate franchise is slowing to a crawl, as developer Full Circle is going through restructuring that will "impact" some of its employees. To put it bluntly, the company is likely performing a mass layoff as player counts are at two percent of their launch-day peak, when the title had attracted some 134,000 concurrents. "As Skate continues to evolve, we’re transforming as a studio," a note from Full Circle reads. The studio claims it is being "reshaped" so as to allow for a more efficient approach to supporting Skate in the long run. It will "focus the team on the things that matter most to you and making those things great," but "some roles will be impacted" to enable the team to shift priorities. "The teammates affected are talented colleagues and friends who helped build the foundation of Skate. Their creativity and dedication are deeply ingrained in what players experience today," the studio noted. The game is not being shut down, despite the softly worded layoff. It will continue chugging along, with this downsized studio supposedly having a clearer vision of what players want and how those things can be implemented. I praised Skate in my preview and even played it for a while after launch, having a ton of fun in the process. Image via EA "Our work on Skate continues. We look forward to working with you as we move faster, listen more closely, and deliver consistently for all of you. Our commitment to Skate, and to the millions of players who believe in it, remains strong," the studio concluded. These layoffs come as Skate suffers from massive player count issues, with the game fluctuating around two percent of its all-time high achieved around launch last summer. In raw numbers, some 2,400 concurrents play Skate on average, whereas it peaked at around 134,000 only half a year ago. The free-to-play revival of the beloved Skate franchise had amazing prospects initially, and even I praised it in my preview back then. However, it would appear that Full Circle failed to engage with the live-service model effectively enough to retain its player base, prompting many to leave and, evidently, never return. Even when it first launched, players were dissatisfied with its new "cartoony" art direction, which contrasted heavily with the more gritty, edgy, and altogether 2000s style of the older Skate games. EA and Full Circle said that, among other things, it was a top priority for the live-service model to improve. Instead, Season 3 of Skate will have part of its map locked behind a paywall, available only to those who purchased a Premium Pass for the first month or so. It could be that monetization practices pushed the fans away from the game and into the embrace of its predecessors, despite a solid mechanical and gameplay base. Fans discussing the studio's downsizing on social media emphasized how Skate started off strong but wound up riding itself off a cliff for no apparent reason. "I can't believe they missed the mark so hard with this one," one user noted. They emphasized that just bringing back the old Skate and marketing it to its core audience would have been a formula for success, but that "instead we have an out-of-touch mess that they seemingly aimed at the Fortnite demographic, but that isn't the crowd that was wanting Skate so bad." Others wanted a clearer explanation. The studio's wording doesn't really reveal what exactly happened behind the scenes. Whether it's financial woes or developers not meeting deadlines is anyone's guess, and unless EA comes clean about it, it'll remain shrouded in mystery. The fact of the matter, unfortunately, remains: Skate is slowly fading, its players are nowhere to be found, and its creators are now fewer. The post Skate developer going through mass layoffs as player base continues to dwindle: ‘I can’t believe they missed the mark so hard’ appeared first on Destructoid.

Feb 26, 2026 - 05:20

Skate developer going through mass layoffs as player base continues to dwindle: ‘I can’t believe they missed the mark so hard’

Well, it would seem that EA's revival of the Skate franchise is slowing to a crawl, as developer Full Circle is going through restructuring that will "impact" some of its employees. To put it bluntly, the company is likely performing a mass layoff as player counts are at two percent of their launch-day peak, when the title had attracted some 134,000 concurrents.

"As Skate continues to evolve, we’re transforming as a studio," a note from Full Circle reads. The studio claims it is being "reshaped" so as to allow for a more efficient approach to supporting Skate in the long run. It will "focus the team on the things that matter most to you and making those things great," but "some roles will be impacted" to enable the team to shift priorities.

"The teammates affected are talented colleagues and friends who helped build the foundation of Skate. Their creativity and dedication are deeply ingrained in what players experience today," the studio noted.

The game is not being shut down, despite the softly worded layoff. It will continue chugging along, with this downsized studio supposedly having a clearer vision of what players want and how those things can be implemented.

I praised Skate in my preview and even played it for a while after launch, having a ton of fun in the process. Image via EA "Our work on Skate continues. We look forward to working with you as we move faster, listen more closely, and deliver consistently for all of you. Our commitment to Skate, and to the millions of players who believe in it, remains strong," the studio concluded.

These layoffs come as Skate suffers from massive player count issues, with the game fluctuating around two percent of its all-time high achieved around launch last summer. In raw numbers, some 2,400 concurrents play Skate on average, whereas it peaked at around 134,000 only half a year ago. The free-to-play revival of the beloved Skate franchise had amazing prospects initially, and even I praised it in my preview back then.

However, it would appear that Full Circle failed to engage with the live-service model effectively enough to retain its player base, prompting many to leave and, evidently, never return. Even when it first launched, players were dissatisfied with its new "cartoony" art direction, which contrasted heavily with the more gritty, edgy, and altogether 2000s style of the older Skate games.

EA and Full Circle said that, among other things, it was a top priority for the live-service model to improve. Instead, Season 3 of Skate will have part of its map locked behind a paywall, available only to those who purchased a Premium Pass for the first month or so. It could be that monetization practices pushed the fans away from the game and into the embrace of its predecessors, despite a solid mechanical and gameplay base.

Fans discussing the studio's downsizing on social media emphasized how Skate started off strong but wound up riding itself off a cliff for no apparent reason. "I can't believe they missed the mark so hard with this one," one user noted.

They emphasized that just bringing back the old Skate and marketing it to its core audience would have been a formula for success, but that "instead we have an out-of-touch mess that they seemingly aimed at the Fortnite demographic, but that isn't the crowd that was wanting Skate so bad."

Others wanted a clearer explanation. The studio's wording doesn't really reveal what exactly happened behind the scenes. Whether it's financial woes or developers not meeting deadlines is anyone's guess, and unless EA comes clean about it, it'll remain shrouded in mystery.

The fact of the matter, unfortunately, remains: Skate is slowly fading, its players are nowhere to be found, and its creators are now fewer.

The post Skate developer going through mass layoffs as player base continues to dwindle: ‘I can’t believe they missed the mark so hard’ appeared first on Destructoid.

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