Tony Hawk's is a series of skateboarding video games published by Activision and endorsed by the American professional skateboarder of the same name. From 1999 to 2007, the series was primarily developed for home consoles by Neversoft with generally annual releases. In 2008, Activision transferred the franchise to Robomodo, which released several entries before Activision and Hawk's license expired in 2015, leaving the future of the series uncertain. In 2020, the series returned under Activision with a remake of the original two games in the series, and a remake of the third and fourth games in 2025 developed by Vicarious Visions and Iron Galaxy respectively.
Starting with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater in 1999, the series was one of the best-selling video game franchises of the early 2000s. Three more Pro Skater games were released from 2000 to 2002, after which the developers took a more story-oriented approach with the releases of Underground, Underground 2, and American Wasteland from 2003 to 2005. Project 8 in 2006 and Proving Ground in 2007 were the final games in the series developed by Neversoft. Developer Robomodo took the franchise in a different direction with the peripheral-supported games Ride and Shred, released in 2009 and 2010 to negative critical reviews and poor sales. Robomodo tried to revive the series with the back-to-the-roots Pro Skater HD in 2012 and Pro Skater 5 in 2015. The series also spawned several spin-offs, such as Downhill Jam in 2006 and Motion in 2008, and several ports and re-releases.
Neversoft's first five Tony Hawk's received critical acclaim for their unique gameplay, varied soundtracks, and expansion over their predecessors. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 and Pro Skater 3 are ranked among the best games released for the PlayStation and PlayStation 2, respectively. Later entries drew less favorable reviews; Ride and Pro Skater 5 were named "Worst Games of the Year" by several outlets. After this, Activision let the licensing deal expire while holding all publishing rights. Fans continued to support the series through an online multiplayer fangame called THUG Pro, which uses Underground 2s engine in an all-encompassing collection of levels from the series.
The first game bearing the Tony Hawk's name not published by Activision, Tony Hawk's Skate Jam, was released in December 2018 for iOS and Android. A second high-definition remake of the first two games, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2, published by Activision and developed by Vicarious Visions (who previously developed ports of several Tony Hawk's games), was released in 2020.
Games Games in bold indicate main installments. Year Title Developer Primary Additional Handheld Other 1999 Pro Skater Neversoft (PlayStation) Natsume Co., Ltd. (GBC)Ideaworks3D (N-Gage, Mobile) Treyarch (Dreamcast)Edge of Reality (N64) 2000 Pro Skater 2 Vicarious Visions (GBA)Natsume Co., Ltd. (GBC) LTI Gray Matter (Windows, iOS)Aspyr (Mac/Pocket PC)Treyarch (Dreamcast)Edge of Reality (N64) 2001 Pro Skater 3 Neversoft (PS2, GCN, Xbox) Vicarious Visions (GBA)HotGen (GBC) Shaba Games (PlayStation)Gearbox Software (Windows)Edge of Reality (N64)Beenox (Mac) Pro Skater 2x Treyarch (Xbox) 2002 Pro Skater 4 Neversoft (PS2, GCN, Xbox) Vicarious Visions (GBA, Mobile) Semi Logic Entertainments (Zodiac) Vicarious Visions (PlayStation)Beenox (Windows, Mac) 2003 Underground Vicarious Visions (GBA)Jamdat (Mobile) Beenox (Windows)2004 Underground 2 Vicarious Visions (GBA)Jamdat (Mobile)Shaba Games (Underground 2: Remix: PSP)2005 American Wasteland Neversoft (PS2, GCN, Xbox, X360) Vicarious Visions (American Sk8land: DS, GBA)Jamdat (Mobile) Aspyr (Windows) 2006 Downhill Jam Toys for Bob (Wii) Vicarious Visions (DS)Visual Impact (GBA)Fishlabs (Mobile) SuperVillain Studios (PS2) Project 8 Neversoft (X360, PS3) Page 44 Studios (PSP) InfoSpace (Mobile) Shaba Games (Xbox, PS2) 2007 Proving Ground Vicarious Visions (DS) In-Fusio (Mobile) Page 44 Studios (Wii, PS2) 2008 Motion Creat Studios (DS) 2009 Vert Glu Mobile (Mobile) Ride Robomodo (X360, PS3) Buzz Monkey Software (Wii) 2010 Shred 2012 Pro Skater HD Robomodo (X360, PS3, Windows) Disruptive Games (online multiplayer) 2014 Shred Session Big Bit (iOS, Android; pulled after soft launch) 2015 Pro Skater 5 Robomodo (XONE, PS4) Disruptive Games (online multiplayer)Fun Labs (X360, PS3) 2018 Skate Jam Maple Media (iOS, Android) 2020 Pro Skater 1 + 2 Vicarious Visions (Windows, PS4, PS5, XONE, XSX/S) Turn Me Up Games (Switch) Beenox (additional work)Iron Galaxy (Steam release)2025Pro Skater 3 + 4Iron Galaxy
Gameplay The Tony Hawk's series was originally developed as a classic arcade game. The goal of most modes of the game is to achieve a high score.Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 (PlayStation 2) instruction manual, pp. 11–12 To do this, the player must perform aerials, flips, grinds, lips, and manuals, with successful combinations adding to the player's score. The point value of the trick is based on time maintained, degrees rotated, number of tricks performed in sequence, performing tricks on specific landmarks on the map, and the number of times the tricks have been used.Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 (PlayStation 2) instruction manual, p. 6 Successful tricks also add to the player's special meter, which, once full, allows the execution of special tricks that are worth a great deal more than normal tricks. Bails (falling off the skateboard due to poor landing) forfeit points for the attempted trick and reset the special bar to empty. The controls of the game developed as the series progressed. While the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater featured a fairly limited set of moves, later entries allowed the player to switch between moves during the same grind or manual sequence, perform transfers, hold on to and drive various vehicles, walk on foot and scale walls, slow time, or perform more advanced tricks by pressing buttons repeatedly—for example, a double or triple kickflip instead of a normal one.Tony Hawk's Underground 2 (PlayStation 2) instruction manual, pp. 4–8 Later entries, such as American Wasteland, allowed the player to use a BMX, and Motion and Shred featured snowboarding.
The first three Pro Skater games centered around an arcade mode, in which the player tries to achieve a high score, perform certain tasks, and collect a number of objects in a limited amount of time. If the player completes enough of these objectives in one level, they unlock other levels and acquire currency, with which they can improve their character. Competition levels require the player to gain an excellent score with minimal bails to progress.Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (PlayStation 2) instruction manual, p. 8 Starting with Pro Skater 2, it became possible to create a custom character and design skateparks. All games until Pro Skater 5 featured local multiplayer, while it was possible to compete in online multiplayer since Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3. Since the first Pro Skater, it was possible to access all levels without having to perform tasks and without a time limit. This concept was later used in career mode from Pro Skater 4 onwards.Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 (PlayStation 2) instruction manual, p. 8 Non-player characters give tasks to the player, who could otherwise freely explore the levels without time constraints. Starting with Underground, the series replaced the career mode with a story mode. In Underground, Project 8, and Proving Ground, the story centered around the player character turning into a professional skateboarder.Tony Hawk's Underground (PlayStation 2) instruction manual, p. 11 In Underground 2, the only direct sequel in the series, the player embarks on a destruction tour around the world, orchestrated by Tony Hawk and Bam Margera.Tony Hawk's Underground 2 (PlayStation 2) instruction manual, p. 10 In American Wasteland, the first of the series to feature one consecutive open world instead of separate levels, the player character aims to rebuild an old skatepark in Los Angeles.Tony Hawk's American Wasteland (PlayStation 2) instruction manual, p. 10
After Activision took the series from Neversoft, the new developer Robomodo changed the general outlet and gameplay of the franchise. Tony Hawk: Ride and its successor, Tony Hawk: Shred introduced a peripheral skateboard which replaced the controller. To provide a realistic skateboarding experience, turning, leaning, hopping, and other actions on the peripheral device were directly translated into the movements of the in-game character via infrared sensors. This resulted in the abandonment of open levels, which were replaced by linear levels that had the character skate on pre-set paths. A similar attempt was made with the Nintendo DS game Tony Hawk's Motion, which used a peripheral device that recognized the leaning of the DS system and had the skater move accordingly.
Skaters The below table includes all playable professional skateboarders from the main series of games. It does not include playable characters who are either fictional or based on real people who are not professional skateboarders. Unlockable characters in various versions of the game who are not professional skateboarders include Jack Black, Doomguy, Eddie the Head, Jango Fett, Iron Man, Nick Kang from True Crime: Streets of LA, Darth Maul, Judy Nails from Guitar Hero, Shrek, Gene Simmons, Kelly Slater, Spider-Man, Wolverine, a skeleton, a human-sized severed hand and a humanoid with an eyeball for a head based on the Neversoft logo.
+ Legend Playable in this game Playable after patch (skater was added to the game in an update)Playable, but must be unlocked by the player firstNot playable in this game
Pro skater THPS THPS2 THPS3 THPS4 THUG THUG2 THAW THP8 THPG THPS5 THPS12 THPS34 Wee Man Total 10 13 13 15 171013151792130
Development Background
To capitalize on the growing popularity of skateboarding as a sport, Activision approached small developer Neversoft to develop a skateboarding game. According to an interview with one of the developers in 2018, Activision originally wanted a skateboard racing game similar to Sega's arcade game Top Skater, but after Neversoft showed them what their engine was capable of, the racing idea was abandoned in favor of a more free-flowing approach. Activision signed professional skateboarder Tony Hawk as the face of the skateboarding game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. The game had been in development long before Hawk was signed as the face of the brand; as such, his name and likeness were included late in development. Originally, Hawk signed a licensing contract valid until 2002, which was then renewed until 2015, following the success of the Pro Skater series. Mitch Lasky, at that time the senior vice president of Activision, stated in an interview with GameSpot that the game as well as the character were meant "to reflect Tony's signature style – an intense mix of acrobatics and hard-core technical skating". Hawk himself was involved in the development of the game and his in-game persona, remarking that "[he had] always wanted to help create a video game that represented the reality and excitement of professional skateboarding". Hawk, along with other skaters featured in the game, was animated for the game using motion capture and voiced his character.
Neversoft era (1999–2007)