The premise was a rather sound one. Deliver a game as a free-to-play experience that fans could hop into as little or as much as they want and spend money as they see fit, all while providing feedback to lead the development and growth of the experience in a meaningful way. However, this hasn't exactly gone as planned for developer Full Circle and their project Skate, as the skateboarding title has been met with quite a bit of criticism from fans.
With months of criticism behind the game already, the latest developments are sure to do nothing but generate further backlash, as in an outlook article, it's revealed that the game will be getting yet another battle pass feature, a pricier and more detailed option called the Premium+ skate.pass, and will be locking the return of the tutorial island behind a paywall for as much as three months...
Full Circle explains this reasoning by noting that the Premium+ feature is a way to fix the demand from fans for "more real-world brands, more value, and more choice," all while the return of the Isle of Grom being locked behind a paywall for Premium skate.pass owners is regarded "as an added benefit" to those that sink money into the game.
Granted, there will be ways to access the island before it becomes a freely available main fixture, as an Isle of Grom Water Taxi day pass is present for 500 Rip Chips, but only from May 5, allowing you uninhibited access to the location for 24 hours, and there will also be open access between April 14 and May 5 too. As for when Premium owners can hop in without limits, this begins on March 10, and the official grand launch is planned for after June 2.
Full Circle signs off with: "Our goal remains the same. We want skate. to be a game that keeps growing and improving with our community for a very long time. Early Access is about building the foundation for that future."