The Best Skateboarding Video Games, Ranked
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 is the best all-round pick — arcade-perfect and the ideal entry point. For realism, the Skate series and Session lead; for pure style, OlliOlli World; for physics tinkering, Skater XL. Check the platform before you buy.
Skateboarding and video games have been intertwined since a certain 1999 classic taught a generation to combo a 900 off a vert ramp. When it's raining, when you're injured, or when you just want to skate the couch, the genre delivers a feeling no other sports game does. Here's our ranked rundown of the essentials, from arcade to simulation, across every platform.
1. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2
The remake of the two most-loved skate games ever made, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 is the best skateboarding game you can buy today. It nails the tight, fast, combo-chaining arcade feel of the originals while looking gorgeous on modern hardware, and the soundtrack alone is worth the price. If you buy one skate game, buy this — it's the perfect entry point and the ceiling for expert play is sky-high.
2. The Skate series
EA's Skate reinvented the genre with 'flick it' controls that map tricks to the right stick, trading arcade combos for open-world realism and expression. The reboot brings a sprawling free-to-play city and the same beloved feel. If you want skating that rewards patience and creativity over button memorization, this is your series.
3. Session: Skate Sim
The purist's choice, Session: Skate Sim assigns each foot to a stick and asks you to genuinely learn how tricks work. It's demanding and occasionally frustrating, but landing a line feels earned in a way no arcade game replicates, and its replay editor produces genuinely cinematic clips. For realism obsessives, nothing else comes close.
4. OlliOlli World
A left turn and all the better for it, OlliOlli World is a side-scrolling flow-state platformer with a gorgeous art style and controls anyone can learn in minutes but spend hours mastering. It's the most purely joyful game on this list and the easiest to recommend to non-skaters. On Switch it's a perfect handheld pick-up.
5. Skater XL
The sandbox for tinkerers, Skater XL pairs realistic physics with a vast modding community that adds real-world spots, gear and mechanics. Out of the box it's a capable realistic skater; with mods it becomes almost anything you want. PC is the platform to own it on for the full mod experience.
Which platform, and what you need
Most of these run on PS5, Xbox and PC, with Tony Hawk and OlliOlli World also on Switch — but availability shifts, so confirm the listing for your console before buying. For the flick-stick realism games especially, a quality gaming controller makes a real difference, and a gaming headset pulls you into the soundtrack. Browse the full skate games shelf for current picks across every platform. Then, when the rain clears, take what you learned back to the real board.
