Please, please don’t download early Skate 4 build, EA shouts hopelessly into the void
There's a very early version of Skate 4 kicking around out there, and EA would very much like you to not play it.
Perhaps you've heard of the Streisand Effect; the phenomenon that occurs when someone attempts to hide, remove, or censor information... and actually ends up amplifying it to a much broader (and often more vocal) audience.
This psychological phenomenon got its name when Barbara Streisand tried to remove an aerial photograph of her massive mansion from a public collection of California coastline photographs – and in the process, ended up broadcasting the location of her property to anyone that cared to look it up. Oops.
Now, we're not saying Skate 4 and Barbara Streisand are similar, but there's definitely a parallel to be drawn. Earlier this week, we reported that some Skate 4 footage had leaked online, giving us a good look at the pre-pre-pre-alpha footage partially teased in the most recent trailer.
In reaction to that footage, EA put out a statement saying: “We’re aware of an earlier version of the game that has been distributed without our authorization. This build is from September 2021 and was never intended for external use” (thanks, VGC).
That build, it turns out, is available quite easily online if you know where to look. A quick glance at social media feeds and online forums shows that a lot of people already have their hands on it.
And, if posts on gaming forum Resetera are to be believed, a lot of people didn't know that there was a 'cracked' version of the alpha out there until EA issued its statement. Oops.
If you'd like to be part of the process – formally! – EA invited players to playtest the early build of the game. Going this route allows you to offer feedback and be a positive part of the game development process. Granted, not everyone who applies will be invited to be part of the early alpha testing period, since EA "will be inviting players to participate in playtesting based on varying factors defined by our goals for testing at that time in development."
“While we understand you’re excited to get into the game, we encourage you to be careful when downloading files from unknown sources,” EA said in its statement. So just be careful, and perhaps – this time – take on board what the publisher is saying (no pun intended).