Tony Hawk Returns To Video Game Skateboarding Next Week With 'Skate Jam'

The last time we saw the legendary Tony Hawk hop on a skateboard for a video game, it was for the lackluster sequel Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5, which left quite a dent in the series and eventually forced Activision to abandon it altogether. But fret not, as Hawk is getting back on the board for a new release -- at least, on the mobile front.

The game is called Tony Hawk's Skate Jam, and it'll be produced by Maple Media, who previously worked on several games in the Skate Party and Snowboard Party series. According to the game's official listing, "Tony Hawk's Skate Jam will set a new bar for authentic tricks, controls and music in a mobile skate game, thanks to Tony."

Skate Jam, which is coming for both Android and iOS next week, will feature more than 15 parks and a variety of Birdhouse branded skateboards to pick up, along with a career mode where you'll have to take on a number of challenges to proceed forward. There will also be global tournaments, as well as three disciplines that players will be able to choose from: park, street and vert, each of which are likely to have variations in play styles.

For a mobile release, Skate Jam doesn't look too bad thus far, with some good variety in its locales (in San Francisco) and what appears to be online leaderboards for the game, so you can compete against others. The game is also set up as a free-to-play title, though its microtransactions haven't been detailed just yet. Hopefully Maple Media can keep things fair for players that want to unlock more content, instead of forcing them to buy it outright.

It's probably pretty questionable as to whether Skate Jam will be able to match the success of the earlier Pro Skater games, which became a massive hit for Activision and sold millions of copies. But those that want to skate with Hawk again will no doubt be eager to give it a try; and since it's set up as a free-to-play title, it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot and see how it fares.

The game will be available next week for mobile devices.

(Hat tip to Polygon for the scoop!)