Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 released yesterday - with a massive day-one update that’s larger than the game itself.
The series revival only takes up 4.6 GB - a bit on the small side, considering that this is a full-priced retail game with a pricetag of £50. The patch, however, takes up a whopping 7.7 GB of space, more than 1.5 times the space of the game itself.
The large patch may have something to do with the dramatic change in the game’s visuals late in development, which Activision quietly revealed last month. The visuals went from the traditional look that previous Tony Hawk games have had, to more of a cel-shaded style. Developer Robomodo has stated that the change was made because they want the game to run as smooth as possible at 60 fps and 1080p.
“Our priority from the start has been to make sure Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 feels good to play. That means hitting 60 fps at 1080p,” Robomodo CEO Josh Tsui told Game Informer in an interview. “Even when you’re shredding with 20 people in the same session online.”
The odd aspects of Pro Skater 5’s development and launch don’t end there. In addition to the large patch, Activision declined to release any pre-release review copies of the game. This isn’t good sign, as usually having review embargoes or withholding early review copies means the publisher has very little confidence in the title’s quality. Activision may not want reviews to come out until the last minute so that potentially bad reviews won’t harm Pro Skater 5’s sales.
Footage of game being played has since appeared online, and appears to confirm these fears. Yesterday, Eurogamer showed footage of the game apparently taken from just one hours’ worth of play. The footage, which you can view below, looks more like it was taken from a pre-alpha game - certainly not from a finished retail product.
Oh dear.
While Tony Hawks Pro Skater 5 is currently only available on PS4 and Xbox One, a digital-only, last-gen version will be made available in November for PS3 and Xbox 360. These versions won’t have multiplayer, but they will cost less than their current-gen counterparts.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 is out now in North America on PS4 and Xbox One, while the European release date is set for Friday, October 2nd. The game will also be released for PS3 and Xbox 360 in NA and Europe on November 10th and 13th respectively.
Here’s Eurogamer’s captured in-game footage:
