In the summer of 1999, skateboarding was in a weird spot. It wasn't quite the Olympic titan it is today, but it was definitely outgrowing the "nuisance" label. Then came a pixelated guy in a blue shirt on the original PlayStation. Honestly, nobody—not even Neversoft or Tony himself—expected a game about wooden planks and urethane wheels to sell a billion dollars. But here we are in 2026, and the franchise is somehow more relevant than it was a decade ago.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater didn't just teach us how to Kickflip. It gave us a soundtrack that defined a generation’s taste in music and a physics engine that felt like magic.
The Neversoft Magic and the Bruce Willis Connection
Most people don't realize that the foundation of the first game was actually built for a gritty shooter starring Bruce Willis. The game was called Apocalypse. When Neversoft was pivoting to make a skating game, they basically stuck a skateboard under the Bruce Willis character model to see if the movement felt right. It did. That snappy, arcade-style responsiveness became the DNA of the series. It wasn't about being a "simulation" like the Skate series would later try to be. It was about feeling like a god for two minutes at a time.
You've probably heard the story of the 900. Tony landed it at the X Games in 1999, right as the first game was about to drop. It was the perfect marketing storm. But the real "secret sauce" was the "Revert." Introduced in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3, the Revert allowed players to link vert tricks into manuals, creating infinite combos. This changed everything. Suddenly, scoring a million points wasn't just for the pros; it was a baseline for anyone who knew how to tap the buttons fast enough.
The Rise, the Fall, and the 2020s Resurrection
The franchise eventually bloated. We had peripheral boards that didn't work and a fifth entry in 2015 that was, frankly, a buggy mess. Most fans thought the series was dead. Then, 2020 happened.
📖 Related: Sniper The Last Stand: Why This Flash Classic Still Hits Different Years Later
The release of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 by Vicarious Visions proved that the old formula wasn't just nostalgic—it was fundamentally good. It became the fastest game in the series to hit one million copies. People were hungry for that specific brand of "easy to learn, impossible to master" gameplay.
But then things got rocky again. Activision merged Vicarious Visions into Blizzard, and the rumored remakes of the third and fourth games seemed to vanish into the ether.
What’s Happening Now: The 2025/2026 Comeback
Fast forward to the present. The recent launch of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 in July 2025 (developed by Iron Galaxy) has finally filled the gap. It wasn't a perfect release—some purists hated how the open-ended career mode of the original THPS4 was tweaked back into the classic two-minute timer—but it brought back the legendary levels like Tokyo and Alcatraz in 4K.
The inclusion of new-gen skaters like Yuto Horigome and Rayssa Leal alongside legends like Rodney Mullen shows how the series is bridging the gap. It's not just a museum for Gen X; it’s a living document of where skating is now.
Why We Still Care
It's the music. It's always been the music. Hearing Goldfinger’s "Superman" or Guerilla Radio by Rage Against the Machine still triggers a Pavlovian response in anyone who grew up with a controller in their hand. These games did more for punk and ska than almost any radio station in the early 2000s.
Beyond the vibes, there is a technical complexity most people overlook. The "hitboxes" in the newer remakes are actually more demanding than the originals. Back on the PS1, the landing boxes were huge rectangles. Now, they are "egg-shaped," meaning if you don't land dead-center on a rail, you're going to slide off and bail. It’s harder, but it feels more earned.
Real-World Impact: The Skatepark Project
Tony didn't just take the money and run. Through "The Skatepark Project" (formerly the Tony Hawk Foundation), the success of these games has funded over 600 skateparks globally. He even used the $120,000 he won on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? as seed money for this. When you play these games, you’re looking at a digital version of a sport that Tony has spent thirty years trying to democratize in the real world.
Next Steps for Players and Fans
📖 Related: Puzzles in a children's coloring book NYT: Why the Mini is Just the Start
If you're looking to jump back into the series or improve your lines in the latest 2025 release, start here:
- Focus on the "Wall Plant": In the newer engines, the Wall Plant is the easiest way to keep a combo going when you've run out of rail. Use it to "bounce" back into a manual.
- Check the "Old Skaters" Community: There is a massive subreddit (r/oldskaters) filled with people who got back into real-life skating because of these remasters. If you're over 30 and want to roll again, that's your tribe.
- Remap Your Specials: Don't stick to the default special moves. Map your highest-scoring tricks (like the 900 or the Ghetto Bird) to simple "Up-Down" or "Left-Right" commands to maximize your score in the final 10 seconds of a run.
- Explore the "THUG Pro" Mod: If you’re on PC and want the ultimate legacy experience, this fan-made mod uses the Underground 2 engine to host almost every level from the entire history of the franchise. It’s the gold standard for competitive play.