During Microsoft’s Xbox Anniversary festivities this week the company announced that 70+ Xbox 360 and original Xbox titles were added to backward compatibility on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One. EA’s Skate was one series that Microsoft called out specifically, stating that “the entire Skate franchise is now complete with the addition of Skate 2”. EA then retweeted the Xbox account’s news to make a less exciting announcement of their own:
Additionally, we’re providing a heads up that on December 10, 2021, we will be turning off the Skate 2 online servers for PlayStation and Xbox. It’s not an easy decision and not something we take lightly. For more info check: https://ea.com/service-updates
@skateEA Tweet
The series may be complete on Xbox but the games are not. Online features for the original Skate were retired before 2013, and while Skate 2 has technically remained online since it launched in 2009 the reliability of those services has greatly degraded over time. Skate 3’s servers were originally shut down in 2016 but EA unexpectedly reactivated them in 2018 and 2019. Beyond the Skate games, there’s also concern here over EA following the guidelines of their own User Agreement. Once again they’ve given less than 30 days advance notice before shutting down a game or service. I’ve added the date to the Watch List calendar. Thanks to Wakayama_PT for pointing out the news.