Skateboarding games have come a long way since the genre's early days, gradually moving toward more realistic sports simulations. Skatesterre is taking a different route, aiming to bring back the fast, accessible arcade style that defined classic skateboarding games.

Developed by Goon Squad in collaboration with Headup, Skatesterre was inspired by games such as Skate or Die, Dave Mirra, Grind Session and the early Tony Hawk's Pro Skater titles.

For Headup CEO Dieter Schoeller, those games captured a particular kind of accessibility that has become less common in modern skateboarding games.

"They offer less frustration than more realistic simulation titles and have a 'pick up and play' nature about them, that makes them much more accessible," Schoeller explained.

The goal was to make players feel like professional skaters almost immediately, allowing them to perform tricks through an intuitive control system while still capturing the simple enjoyment of riding a skateboard.

Getting that balance right proved to be a significant challenge for the small independent team.

Alongside the classic arcade feel, the developers wanted to introduce modern quality-of-life improvements, make use of Unreal Engine's latest features and build character customization around professional skater Sterre Meijer's distinctive style.

A game built around skateboarding

The project's lead developer was already a passionate skateboarder before joining the studio. He had built a mini ramp in his garden and spent his free time creating prototypes for skateboarding games.

That personal connection to the sport became an important part of the game's development.

Schoeller also believed that Meijer represented some of the positive changes taking place within modern skateboarding. After following her journey and social media presence, he saw an opportunity to bring her perspective into the project.

He eventually reached out to Meijer and met with her in the Netherlands.

According to Schoeller, Meijer and her brother were supportive of the project from the beginning, while her personality and approach to skating quickly made her a natural fit.

"Sterre has this infectious energy and authenticity that immediately felt right for a skateboarding game," Schoeller said.

Meijer's involvement was not simply about putting a professional skateboarder into the game. The developers wanted her appearance, clothing and overall style to feel authentic.

That process required considerable work. At one point, the team scrapped much of its existing character model and rebuilt it to better represent Meijer.

The effort reflected a larger goal for the game. Meijer has developed her own identity as a skateboarder rather than trying to fit a particular image, and the developers wanted Skatesterre to carry that same sense of individuality.

The result is designed to be colorful, playful and slightly unconventional, while encouraging players to experiment with different approaches and develop their own style.

Finding your own line

The core of Skatesterre is built around the idea of treating a level as one continuous skating line rather than simply a series of ramps and rails.

Players can look for ways to connect different sections of an environment, linking tricks together and building increasingly elaborate combos.

"When you start seeing a level differently, not as a collection of ramps and rails, but as one continuous line, and suddenly pull off a huge combo, Skatesterre really clicks," Schoeller said.

That combination of experimentation and progression is central to what the developers want players to experience.

Rather than simply reproducing the skateboarding games of the past, Skatesterre aims to preserve their immediate, accessible gameplay while giving the formula its own identity.

The developers want players to be able to pick up the game, quickly learn its controls and begin experimenting without having to master a complex simulation system first.

At the same time, there is room for players to improve, discover new lines and build increasingly ambitious combos as they become more familiar with each level.

Ultimately, the team hopes the game recreates the simple satisfaction that made classic arcade skateboarding so memorable.

The ideal reaction, according to Schoeller, is straightforward: players should finish a run and immediately want to start another.

Skatesterre is now available on Xbox Series X|S.