The Skate Team Won’t be Able to See Early Access End

EA’s Full Circle has made a critical decision regarding Skate, which is currently in early access. The game, which launched in early access on September 15, 2025, has announced restructuring and layoffs less than six months later. The exact number of people affected is unclear, but significant changes to the team are evident.

Skate Developer Full Circle Undergoes Restructuring

In a statement, Full Circle said this step was taken to support Skate’s long-term future. The studio confirmed that the team structure would be reshaped and some positions would be affected. The statement emphasized that the affected employees made significant contributions to the project, and specifically stated that the decision was not performance-related.

EA founded Full Circle in 2021 with members of the original Skate developers. While the Skate series previously offered a paid experience with both single-player and multiplayer modes, the new Skate adopted a free-to-play, live-service model supported by microtransactions. This change sparked debate within the player community regarding the series’ direction.

The risks of live-service games in the 2020s are now more apparent. The failure of Concord and the difficulties experienced by Highguard are current examples of this. Although Full Circle claims that the new Skate has been tested by “tens of millions” of players, whether player engagement and microtransaction revenue will meet expectations remains questionable.

This restructuring news, coming while the early access phase is still ongoing, has increased uncertainty about Skate’s future. The impact on the game’s official release and content planning will become clearer in the coming period.

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