Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4: Shredding into 2025 with a Nostalgic Kickflip
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4, set to launch on July 11, 2025, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC, is a highly anticipated remaster of two iconic skateboarding games: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 (2001) and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 (2002). Developed by Iron Galaxy Studios and published by Activision, this collection follows the critically acclaimed Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 (2020), aiming to recapture the magic of the PlayStation 2-era classics while introducing modern enhancements. With a release date confirmed for July 11, 2025, and early access on July 8 for Digital Deluxe and Collector’s Edition buyers, the game promises a blend of nostalgia, new content, and cross-platform multiplayer. Featuring a stacked roster, new parks, and a revamped soundtrack, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 is poised to be one of 2025’s standout remasters, reigniting the Y2K skateboarding craze for a new generation.
The road to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 was paved with uncertainty and excitement. After the success of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2, fans clamored for remasters of the third and fourth entries, but hopes dimmed when Vicarious Visions, the studio behind 1+2, was absorbed into Blizzard Entertainment in 2021, halting initial plans. Tony Hawk himself cast doubt on the project in 2022, citing Activision’s acquisition by Microsoft. However, by September 2024, Hawk hinted at renewed talks with Activision, and a series of teases—including a countdown in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s Grind map and a Singaporean ratings board leak—culminated in the official announcement on March 4, 2025, during an appearance by Hawk on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Iron Galaxy Studios, known for Killer Instinct and Divekick, took over development, using Unreal Engine to rebuild the games from the ground up. The remaster preserves the core mechanics of THPS3 and THPS4 while adding new skaters, parks, and modes like New Game+. Pre-orders opened on March 4, 2025, offering access to a Foundry Demo (available June 8, 2025, on all platforms except Nintendo Switch) and a Wireframe Tony Shader. The Digital Deluxe Edition includes early access, Doom Slayer and Revenant skaters, and bonus content, while the Collector’s Edition features a limited-edition Birdhouse skateboard deck with Tony Hawk’s autograph.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 retains the arcade-style skateboarding that defined the series, with a third-person perspective focused on chaining tricks, grinds, manuals, and reverts to achieve high scores within a two-minute timer. The remaster combines THPS3’s revolutionary revert mechanic, which extends combos, with THPS4’s diverse level design, while streamlining THPS4’s free-roam Career Mode into the classic timed format for cohesion. This decision sparked debate, as some fans preferred THPS4’s open-ended structure, but Iron Galaxy responded by adding options to extend timers to 10 minutes or one hour.
Levels and Modes
Levels and ModesThe game includes all original parks from THPS3 (e.g., Foundry, Los Angeles, Tokyo) and THPS4 (e.g., College, Alcatraz, London), remade in 4K resolution with streamlined goals. New parks, like the Mojave Desert’s Waterpark with its grindable slides and drained lazy river, add fresh challenges. Modes include:
Career Mode: Complete objectives like collecting S-K-A-T-E letters, hitting high scores, or triggering level events (e.g., an earthquake in Los Angeles) to unlock parks and gear.
Free Skate: Explore parks without timers, perfect for practicing combos.
Single Session and Speedruns: Chase high scores or fastest completions.
Multiplayer: Cross-platform online play supports up to eight players in modes like Trick Attack, Graffiti, and the new HAWK mode, a skateboarding hide-and-seek where players drop H-A-W-K letters across the map for opponents to find. Local split-screen supports two players.
New Game+ mode lets players retain stats for harder challenges, while expanded Create-A-Park and Create-A-Skater modes allow custom park designs and skater customization, including names, hometowns, and styles. An in-game tutorial by Tony Hawk teaches tricks like ollies, kickflips, and reverts.
The roster features 21 returning pros, including Tony Hawk, Bob Burnquist, Bucky Lasek, Steve Caballero, Kareem Campbell, Geoff Rowley, Andrew Reynolds, Elissa Steamer, Chad Muska, Eric Koston, Rodney Mullen, Jamie Thomas, and Bam Margera (added after Hawk’s advocacy). New skaters include Rayssa Leal, Chloe Covell, Jamie Foy, Zion Wright, Yuto Horigome, and Margielyn Didal. Digital Deluxe buyers unlock Doom Slayer (with a hoverboard and unique tricks) and Revenant from Doom, alongside secret characters like TMNT’s Michelangelo and Jack Black’s Officer Dick. Create-A-Skater offers deep customization, though some fans note limited female body options.
Built in Unreal Engine, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 delivers 4K/60 FPS on PS5 and Xbox Series X, with 1440p upscaled to 4K on Series S and 1080p/30 FPS on Switch 2. HDR and ray-traced reflections enhance visuals, with iconic levels like Suburbia and College boasting vibrant textures while retaining original layouts. The Foundry Demo, available since June 8, 2025, showcases Foundry and College parks with skaters Tony Hawk, Rayssa Leal, and Doom Slayer (Digital Deluxe exclusive). PC versions face minor optimization issues on lower-end hardware, but consoles perform smoothly.
The soundtrack blends classics like Motörhead’s “Ace of Spades,” Adolescents’ “Amoeba,” Gang Starr’s “Mass Appeal,” and CKY’s “96 Quite Bitter Beings” with new tracks from Turnstile and JPEGMAFIA, curated to reflect modern skate culture. Sound design, from trick clacks to grind scrapes, is crisp, though the lack of a music player at launch has frustrated fans.
Early impressions from IGN and posts on X praise 3+4 for its faithful recreation, modern quality-of-life improvements, and addictive gameplay loop. The Waterpark level feels seamlessly integrated, and the two-minute format is lauded for its pick-up-and-play appeal. The game’s day-one availability on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass has sparked excitement, with pre-orders offering demo access and bonuses like the Wireframe Tony Shader. Social media highlights the nostalgic rush of revisiting levels like Warehouse, with viral clips of combos showcasing the game’s polish.
The game taps into skateboarding’s growing popularity, amplified by the Olympics and a Tony Hawk documentary. A Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes collaboration, featuring Tony The Tiger (Hawk’s stunt double in a 1990 commercial), includes in-game merch and a Vert Alert event in Salt Lake City. However, the removal of THPS4’s free-roam Career Mode disappointed purists, and the $69.99 Deluxe and $129.99 Collector’s Editions sparked price debates.
The shift to timed challenges for THPS4 has divided fans, with some Reddit users lamenting the loss of its open-ended design, though the timer extension compromise mitigated backlash. The Switch version faces visual and performance compromises, and the lack of mod support at launch frustrates speedrunners. Bam Margera’s inclusion, initially uncertain due to his personal struggles, was confirmed after Hawk’s intervention, but some fans question its necessity. The absence of a robust campaign mode and limited new single-player content beyond New Game+ also drew criticism.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 is a triumphant remaster that blends nostalgia with modern flair, delivering the series’ signature combo-driven gameplay in stunning 4K. Iron Galaxy’s faithful recreation of THPS3 and THPS4’s parks, enhanced by new skaters, levels like Waterpark, and cross-platform multiplayer, ensures broad appeal. Despite controversies over THPS4’s streamlined mode and pricing, the game’s addictive loop, iconic soundtrack, and robust creation tools make it a must-play for fans and newcomers. As skateboarding continues to thrive, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 lands a perfect 900, proving the shred’s not dead—it’s better than ever.
