Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater remaster release date, platforms & news

Almost every ’90s kid is likely to have fond memories of the Tony Hawk Pro Skater games, and now you’ve got the chance to revisit them, as the first two games in the series have returned in a remastered package.

Tony Hawk was once the king of the skateboard videogame, but a couple disappointing entries and the rise of EA’s Skate series saw him off for a few years. But now he’s coming back for his crown, with a remaster of the first two Tony Hawk games available now after a release on 4 September.

What platforms is the new Tony Hawk on?

The remaster package is available now on PS4, Xbox One, and PC (through Epic).

We’d expect to see it arrive on the upcoming Xbox Series X and PS5 consoles when they launch later in the year, or perhaps get a port in 2021, but nothing has been confirmed as of yet.

Is it a remake or a remaster?

Activision is describing this as a remaster rather than a remake, but it sounds like a pretty comprehensive one. That’s no surprise since it comes from Vicarious Visions, the same dev studio that worked on the Crash Bandicoot remaster trilogy, which was also re-built from the ground up.

The game includes both Pro Skater and Pro Skater 2, with all the levels from both the original games, which originally released in 1999 and 2000.

Watch the trailer

Here’s the announcement trailer for the new game:

What to expect from the Tony Hawk remaster

(Almost) everything you remember from the first two games is included here, but given a new lick of paint, with graphics built from the ground-up to look good enough for modern consoles, and tweaks to controls to suit modern controllers too.

There are of course new additions too. For one, multiplayer has been expanded from split-screen to include online multiplayer modes (though couch multiplayer is back too, don’t worry). Tricks like revert, technically introduced in the third game in the series, are also included here to fit how you remember the games being as much as how they actually were.

There’s another change to one trick, but it’s for a sweeter reason. The original games’ mute grab has been renamed the Weddle grab in order to honour its creator, the deaf skater Chris Weddle. Tony Hawk himself explained the change on Instagram, admitting the original name was something “we all went along with…in our naive youth.”

“He has been very gracious in his response but it is obvious that a different name would have honored his legacy, as he is hearing impaired but not lacking speech,” Hawk explained. “It’s going to be challenging to break the habit of saying the old name but I think Chris deserves the recognition.

Create-A-Park and Create-A-Skater modes are returning, but both have been expanded and given loads more options – not to mention letting you share your creations online.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater remaster skater roster

Real-world skaters naturally feature too, with a roster that includes both classic skaters from the original games, and newer pros that have made their name in the time since. Here are the returning pros:

• Tony Hawk
• Bucky Lasek
• Steve Caballero
• Geoff Rowley
• Andrew Reynolds
• Elissa Steamer
• Chad Muska
• Eric Koston
• Rodney Mullen
• Rune Glifberg
• Kareem Campbell
• Jamie Thomas
• Bob Burnquist

They’ve all been digitally re-scanned, which means you’ll now be able to play the game with all these legends of the scene as they look now, in their 40s and 50s – including Tony Hawk himself, now 52.

Then here are the new additions, who will all appear with their signature moves and looks:

• Nyjah Huston
• Leo Baker
• Leticia Bufoni
• Aori Nishimura
• Lizzie Armanto
• Shane O’Neill
• Riley Hawk
• Tyshawn Jones

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater remaster soundtrack

Then there’s the soundtrack, which has been commemorated in an official Spotify playlist so you can revisit your favourites without diving into the game.

37 new tracks have been added on top of the original soundtrack, and you can check out the full list of songs, both old and new, right here:

Here’s the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1&2 line-up! (And no need to camp in a soggy field to listen to them) 37 new songs will be added on top of nostalgic hits from 1999 and 2000. #THPS pic.twitter.com/GbwGxn4OE1

— PlayStation UK (@PlayStationUK) July 29, 2020

Not every song from the original two games is included though – licensing deals are presumably to blame – with these three songs not re-appearing:

• Committed by Unsane
• B-Boy Document ’99 by The High & Mighty
• Out With The Old by Alley Life