skate. has released The Grind: Vol. 6 alongside Early Access, delivering a clear snapshot of what’s new and what’s coming to San Vansterdam, from a first lighting pass and the new skate.Pass progression to Founder Pack offerings and the full Season 1 roadmap. The volume answers top community questions, highlights jaw-dropping Insider Preview stats, and frames Early Access as the start of a player-driven evolution, inviting skaters to jump in, shape the experience, and ride every update as the city grows.
What The Grind Vol 6 Covers
• Visual update with the first lighting pass aimed at a more grounded, less high-contrast look.
• Season 1 preview including seasonal events, new skateable areas, brand partners, soundtrack additions, and quality of life fixes.
• skate.Pass introduction with Free and Premium reward tracks and a Seasonal currency called Tix.
• Founder Pack details with Standard and Deluxe editions available in-game and through the skate. shop.
• Insider Preview highlights showing enormous community trick numbers from Aug 26 to Sept 15.
• Community Q&A covering trick additions and legacy modes planned across Seasons 2 and 3.
Visuals and Lighting Update
The first lighting pass reshapes San Vansterdam with subtler, more natural illumination to make environments feel grounded and easier to read while skating. By toning down extreme contrast and refining shadow and color balance, the update improves depth, trick visibility, and the city’s overall atmosphere without altering level geometry or flow. This is an iterative foundation, expect further lighting refinements guided directly by player feedback as the team tunes clarity, mood, and performance across future passes.
Season 1 Preview
Season 1 kicks off a cadence of regular seasonal updates that expand San Vansterdam with themed events, new play spaces, and quality-of-life improvements. Highlights to expect:
• New skateable areas: fresh neighborhoods, plazas, and secret spots that change how you line up runs and link tricks.
• Seasonal events: themed drops like Skate-o-ween and Maple Harvest that introduce limited-time challenges, playlists, and rewards.
• Brand partnerships: collabs with names such as Santa Cruz, Independent, and Creature that bring authentic gear, decks, and cosmetic drops.
• Cosmetics and customization: expanded outfits, decks, stickers, and visual options driven by community feedback.
• Soundtrack additions: new tracks joining the living playlist from artists including Operation Ivy and Jurassic 5.
• Ongoing polish: each seasonal patch will deliver bug fixes, performance and UI tweaks, and other improvements while rolling out new content across Early Access.
skate.Pass Explained
Players earn a seasonal currency called Tix simply by playing, using those Tix to progress through pages of the new skate.Pass, which contains over 80 rewards divided between a Free track and a Premium track; Free rewards are available to every player, while the Premium track requires purchase of the Premium skate.Pass. Each skate.Pass page unlocks once you’ve collected the required number of Tix, delivering a curated mix of items; customization options, decks, stickers, outfits, and other cosmetics; so steady play is rewarded with both practical and stylish gear.
Founder Packs and Value
The Founders Packs are optional, limited-time bundles that give early supporters strong value and exclusive flair: the Founder’s Pack is $24.99 includes 2,800 San Van Bucks, MoCap cosmetics, exclusive Founding Founder cosmetics, and the Premium skate.
Pass for Season 1, while the Founder’s Deluxe Pack is $49.99 adds an extra 3,100 San Van Bucks (5,900 SVB total), Meatman cosmetics, Vans Founders Old Skool shoes, and throwback tees from Skate 1, 2, and 3.
Both packs effectively return SVB equal to the purchase value and unlock rare cosmetics and seasonal benefits reserved for early adopters; these offers are available only through December 2, so grab them to secure Founding Founder status and immediate Season 1 perks.
Insider Preview Fun Stats
The Insider Early Access Preview (Aug 26–Sept 15) produced staggering player numbers that show how much skating went down in San Vansterdam, from staple moves to crowd-favorite flair gestures:
• 181 million Kickflips
• 134 million Ollies
• 20 million Laserflips
• 300K Rocket Airs
• 81K Japan Airs
• 175K Fake Steez gestures used
Roadmap and Community Questions
The team confirmed a clear plan to resurrect beloved moves from the franchise by leveraging the rebuilt Flick‑It system, bringing legacy tricks into skate. across multiple seasons. Season 2 will add Impossibles and expanded Handplants, while Season 3 will deliver Darkslides alongside improved Footplants and Boneless options. Beyond those drops, the developers are steadily working to fold classic game modes into San Vansterdam through seasonal updates, each paired with quality‑of‑life improvements and bug fixes, and they’ve signaled that additional legacy features and refinements will continue to arrive after Season 3 as player feedback and iteration dictate.
Early Access Launch Summary
skate. is live in Early Access on consoles and PC as a free-to-play, cross-platform experience with optional cosmetic purchases and full cross-progression. The signature Flick‑It system returns rebuilt for greater precision and expanded off‑board controls that let players reach vertical and hidden lines like never before. San Vansterdam opens as a living, evolving playground made of four distinct neighborhoods, Quick Drop spot-building for instant level design, Spectate mode to join and learn from other skaters, a comprehensive Skatepedia to master tricks, and a dynamic soundtrack that will continue to grow and shift with the city.
How to Jump In
Download skate. on PlayStation, Xbox, Steam, Epic Games Store, or the EA App and jump into Early Access for free; optionally purchase a Founder Pack to receive exclusive cosmetics, San Van Bucks (SVB), and the Season 1 Premium skate.Pass; then join seasonal events, play to earn Tix, and progress through skate.Pass pages to unlock rewards and tailor your skater.
Final Note
The Grind: Vol. 6 frames Early Access as an open invitation for players to help shape skate.’s living world, merging practical updates and creative systems into a roadmap built around community input. With the first visual refinements, the reward-driven skate.Pass, Founder Pack perks, and a steady cadence of seasonal content, San Vansterdam is already a dynamic skate sandbox that will expand, evolve, and adapt based on player feedback. Keep an eye on Season 1 and the launch of The Weekly Grind for the next wave of updates and community-driven moments.
Key Takeaways
• Early Access Live: skate. is now in Early Access across consoles and PC as a free-to-play, cross-platform title with cross-progression.
• The Grind - Vol. 6 roadmap: the new volume outlines visual updates, the skate.Pass system, Founder Pack details, Season 1 plans, and answers to top community questions.
• Lighting pass: an initial visual overhaul tones down high contrast for clearer, more grounded environments with further refinements planned from player feedback.
• Season 1 content cadence: regular seasonal updates will add new skateable areas, themed events like Skate-o-ween and Maple Harvest, brand partnerships, cosmetics, soundtrack additions, and ongoing fixes.
• skate.Pass progression: players earn seasonal currency (Tix) to unlock over 80 rewards across Free and Premium tracks, with Premium access gated by the paid skate.Pass.
• Founder value: limited-time Founder Packs offer San Van Bucks, exclusive cosmetics, and the Premium skate.Pass, delivering immediate in-game value and Founder status.
• Legacy tricks and roadmap: legacy moves are being reintroduced via the rebuilt Flick‑It system, with Impossibles and Expanded Handplants in Season 2 and Darkslides plus improved Footplants/Boneless in Season 3.
Game Information:
Developer & Publisher: EA
Platforms: PC (reviewed), PS4, PS5, XO, XSX
Release Date: September 16, 2025 - Early Access
Score: 6.0 / 10
A solid Early Access showing; the core skate feel is enjoyable, Quick Drop and Skatepedia add value, and seasonal plans look balanced, but visual polish and feature depth still need time; a good pick for players who enjoy evolving sandboxes and can tolerate growing pains.