Just short a year from the game to reach a decade old, Skate 3 is the last standing installment for Electronic Arts’ Skate series: while there has been a given amount of time since 2010, there are fans still patiently waiting for the publisher to properly solidify there being a four in the future. However, we already know that there still has yet to be an announcement as I currently write this in November 2019.
Topping on the unfortunate realization that there hasn’t been a new game for nearly an entire generation cycle, the trademark for the series filed under the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has again been abandoned by EA. For some this is no news seeing that the renewal for the legal rights to the IP has run out earlier last year, but this is not the first time it has occurred for the AAA publisher.
According to Justia Trademarks, since August 1st of this year Electronic Arts has yet to refile the trademark for Skate. Upon further inspecting the page, it shares that just a day prior of the trademark’s expiration reads that the owning party of the trademark (EA) has abandoned the word mark. Branding the trademark with a status 602: “Abandoned-Failure To Respond Or Late Response.”
However, upon word breaking out of this unsettling news for Skate fans, this might not ultimately be the end for the skating sim. Following the report from GamesRadar+, Morrison Rothman LLP video game law specialist Caroline Womack clarifies that Electronic Arts might have filed a separate trademark rather than simply renewing the currently standing one. Instead, the publisher is reported to have another trademark for the IP, but not through the USPTO.
The gaming outlet even suggests that there is another trademark listed through a separate Justina page, so the abruptly breaking slew of details might have blew to unnecessary proportions. The trademark is said to be active for the next ten years since the initial filling back in June 2019, so all hope has yet to be lost just yet for the possible return for skate.
In the meantime, impatient players could ease on their wait as Crea-ture Studios has already released succeeding title Session on Steam Early Access with the game scheduled to arrive for Xbox One before 2020.
How long have you been waiting for the next Skate game?
Source: GamesRadar+
