THPS 3+4 Designer Calls It 'One Of Greatest Achievements Of My Career', Despite Being Laid Off In February

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 was five years in the making, and we felt it lived up to expectations despite not being quite as good as Pro Skater 1+2 - which seems a great achievement considering it didn't spend that long in development.

Recently, someone on the game's official Reddit page suggested that THPS 3+4 was only being worked on for around 18 months, while also claiming that the lead level designer was laid off back in February of this year. Then, to everyone's surprise, that level designer shared a response of their own, admitting that they did get laid off this year.

It seems there's no bad blood though, as they're massively proud of everyone's work on the game:

"The game industry is in a weird spot right now. I did get laid off, along with other super talented devs, but working on 3+4 was one of the greatest achievements of my career. Being able to remake some of the greatest levels ever made was an honor. Being able to contribute to the world of Tony Hawk with original levels and a super talented team was a pleasure. Activision was a great partner they trusted us to put the levels together and deliver something everyone would be proud of. "

"I can’t comment on the specifics of the time line. The majority of the 3+4 team were Rumbleverse devs so after that got shut down it was nice to have 3+4 to move on to. We loved putting this game together and wanted to make something core fans and new fans could enjoy. We love THPS and its community. You all kick ass! I know it’s not perfect but I hope you all can see the love we put into the game and get some joy out of it."

As you can see, it's mentioned that most of the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 team were Rumbleverse developers - a free-to-play game from 2022 that sadly flopped and ended up getting shut down on February 28th, 2023. That would suggest THPS 3+4 was in development for a maximum of just over two years, so it was a pretty quick turnaround overall.

Just to be clear, the game was developed by Iron Galaxy - formerly known for Killer Instinct amongst Rumbleverse and other things - and although it was published by Xbox, the studio isn't actually owned by Xbox or Activision at all. Still, with multiple layoffs seemingly having taken place at the company, it suggests a Tony Hawk Underground remaster (or a brand-new THPS game) isn't in the plans right now. Hopefully we're wrong though... who knows!

Anyway, this was an interesting insight on the behind-the-scenes of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4, and here's hoping the designer in question can be brought back into the fold for another Tony Hawk game in the not-too-distant future.

What are your thoughts on this? Let us know down in the comments section below.