We've been treated to more details on the new Skate game from EA today, confirming that it actually won't be called Skate 4 (it'll just be known as "Skate."), along with the surprising reveal that it'll be a live service, free-to-play game.

In an interview with The Verge, Creative Director Deran Chung enthused that the new Skate will be "an authentic evolution of the franchise and taking what Skate 3 was in 2010 and bringing it to now and to the future".

The free-to-play aspect means there will inevitably be microtransactions, although Head of Product Management Isabelle Mocquard stated they won't be geared around pay-to-win elements, but rather cosmetics and convenience.

"I want it to be very clear that it’s not a pay-to-win game. There won’t be any gameplay areas hidden exclusively behind a paywall. Players won’t be able to buy any gameplay altering advantages.”

One of the gameplay features talked about in the interview is something called "CollaboZones", where creative players will be able to collaborate on building things like ramps and structures that can then appear in other people's worlds.

There's no word on a release date for the new Skate as of yet, and it actually still sounds a long way off, but it's been confirmed for Xbox, PlayStation and PC, and will feature cross-play and cross-progression when it arrives.

Liking the sound of this, or put off by a free-to-play release? Tell us in the comments below.

[source theverge.com]