Growing up, the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series had a special place in my heart. Especially the latter ones, because at that time, it felt as if the franchise finally found its footing and began to lean into what made it unique. During Summer Game Fest 2025, MonsterVine got our hands on Iron Galaxy’s upcoming game, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4, and chatted with them about why the game is held in such high regard.
Skateboarding’s Cool Factor Returns in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4
Although many older players may have grown up playing the series, an even larger number of younger players have never heard of it. Kurt Tillman, the game director of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4, described it as “the ultimate skater fantasy.”
“Skateboarders are just cool.” Tilman said, “They do stuff that nobody else can, and you see them do it, and you’re like, ‘there’s no way that’s possible.”
Thankfully, that was still the case. The second I loaded into the game, I was immediately doing all sorts of tricks I could never do in real life, such as grinding, kickflips, and yes… even ollies. So, being able to land tricks I could never do in a million years scratches that itch I used to have growing up.
The team at Iron Galaxy understood that it had big shoes to fill following Vicarious Vision’s launch of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2. Iron Galaxy’s main goal was to “add and improve” on what Vicarious Vision had done with the previous installment. The team wanted to build upon itself by adding sketching to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3. Previously, this feature was only available in Pro Skater 4. Another example of this can be seen with the Combo Goal; since the Pro Skaters 3 and 4 are bundled into one game, it made it easier for the team to have many of these features bleed into one another smoothly.
One of the main goals of Iron Galaxy was to ensure the game felt as “authentic” as possible. The only thing Iron Galaxy ended up changing was the gameplay and the implementation of new skating moves. But other than that, everything is as true to the original, and this is especially true when it comes to the maps.
Authenticity wasn’t the only thing the team wanted to focus on, either. Another strong pillar of the game is its inclusion. So, adding features like cross-play was a must. Even more so was ensuring that it wasn’t stuck to multiplayer. Custom maps that players make in the Create A Park mode will be available to anyone who owns the game, no matter what platform they’re on.
“These are the classic layouts.” Said Tillman. “We have not messed with it at all. We want people to jump back in and feel like a kid again. That’s the whole point.”
As a kid, one of the main things I looked forward to was unlocking each game’s secret skater, like Darth Maul from the Star Wars franchise and even Doom Slayer from the Doom games. Thankfully, Iron Galaxy decided to keep that tradition alive while adding a new take on it. This time around, one of the hidden characters that players can unlock is none other than Michelangelo from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem films. And I’m proud to say that he even has moves that are locked to him; these include flying in the air while swinging his nunchucks, eating pizza while balancing himself on a grind, and spinning in a circle while moving forward.
“Michelangelo fits the vibe of skateboarding so well. The Ninja Turtles and skateboarding are already things that fit so well. Like Michelangelo was the most connected with skateboarding.”
Remakes can be challenging for several reasons. Sometimes, too much is changed, and it takes away from what originally made it good in the first place, and other times, not enough is changed, and it ends up doing more harm than good to a beloved title. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case this time around with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4. After my time with the game, I’m excited for the full release.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 is scheduled to launch on July 11, 2025, on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.
