Tony Hawk's


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 additions 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 spin-offs Ride and Shred, released in 2009 and 2010 to 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 spawned several other 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, was released in 2020.

Games

Games in bold indicate main installments.

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. 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. 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 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
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.
Playable in this game
Playable after patch
Playable, but must be unlocked by the player first
Not playable in this game

Pro skaterTHPSTHPS2THPS3THPS4THUGTHUG2THAWTHP8THPGTHPS5THPS1+2THPS3+4
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