Skate developers respond to ReSkate, the fan made offline mod

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Developer Full Circle has responded to a fan made modding platform for EA's free to play Skate, Kotaku reports. The mod, called ReSkate, lets people play offline, run their own servers and use custom maps and skins. It has passed 350,000 downloads. It runs through Steam's Proton compatibility layer

On 9 October, Full Circle posted a statement on X. It said the studio is not against creativity from players or stopping that from happening. But it drew a line at tools that bypass its systems to unlock paid cosmetics, open gated or unreleased content or make money from unauthorised assets. The studio promised official tools for community creation in future

Skate is an always online game in early access, with no single player mode. Poor player retention led Full Circle to restructure in February. That makes paid cosmetics an important source of income for the team. Mods that unlock them for free directly affect the game's business model

Full Circle has not said it will shut ReSkate down. One of ReSkate's co-creators, known as zee_x64, told PC Gamer that the team would not fight EA's lawyers if it came to that. They acknowledged that the game is free to play and needs to make money somehow to keep developing. That is a surprisingly reasonable stance from both sides

This connects with our thread on digital ownership. Many players want offline modes and the ability to keep playing if servers shut down. Developers need revenue to keep making games. Official modding tools that respect paid content could be a good compromise for everyone

Should always online games offer offline modes? And where is the line between fan creativity and piracy?

Skate Devs Respond To Offline Mod, Would Prefer You Didn'tkotaku.com