Skate leakers uncover “swag bag” loot boxes and fans are worried
EA Black Box A keen-eyed dataminer has found the existence of loot boxes in EA’s next Skate game, prompting concern from avid players.
Over 12 years have passed since EA Black Box’s Skate 3 hit consoles. Now, the acclaimed series is returning as a free-to-play entry, with confirmed microtransactions.
Amid the leak of a 2021 build of the game, dataminers have discovered the existence of loot boxes.
Skate 4 leakers discover loot boxes despite EA’s denial
On July 14, the skate. development team stated the game would use microtransactions to “support a never-ending, ever-evolving” experience. However, the inclusion of loot boxes was denied.
Redditor PatFennis has obtained an alpha build of the game from 2021, leading to the discovery of a loot box-akin system known as “Swag Bags.”
Within the dataminer’s leak, the loot boxes can be earned by using a currency known as “Taps” as players complete challenges and explore Skate’s map.
It appears that the “Swag Bags” are used to unlock cosmetic items such as shirts and shoes. It is unclear whether the “Taps” currency is a purchasable item similar to Fortnite’s V-Bucks at this time.
(Microtransactions and loot boxes discussed 7:48)
Naturally, the dataminer’s discovery has prompted concern for players returning to the Skate franchise.
Redditor Mr-Flat said: “all my interest in it has been killed. I called it when they first announced the game.”
Another added: “I was looking forward to skate 4 but if it gets released with these mechanics, I won’t download it. I am not going to support games with loot boxes.”
One Redditor, mayowa_olu, likened the usage of loot boxes to another EA live-service game: “Apex Legends has a form of loot box mechanics, so yeah this is definitely going to have something like that. I expect the monetization mechanics to be exactly the same as Apex Legends.”
Skate. has yet to confirm a release date, leaving plenty of time for the developers to address paid content.