Skate's Early Access Overwhelms EA Servers Amid Massive Player Surge
September 17, 2025
EA is actively working to resolve server issues for Skate, which experienced a major outage during its early access launch on September 16, 2025, due to overwhelming demand.
Players are advised to stay updated through official EA communications and social media channels, as the developer has acknowledged the problems and is working on fixes.
The primary cause of instability is the massive surge of players trying to access the game simultaneously, exceeding server capacity, especially since there was no pre-load option available.
The high volume of players attempting to log in has led to server overloads, resulting in login errors, queues, and connection issues, which are common during such high-demand launches.
Early access bugs, including progression and matchmaking issues, are also contributing to the problems, though these outages are not linked to platform or service provider outages.
The game’s design requires a constant internet connection to support a dynamic multiplayer environment with live events and evolving city features, which has added to player frustration during the unstable launch.
Skate, the first new entry in 15 years, attracted over 78,000 concurrent players on Steam at launch, ranking among the platform’s top 10 most-played games, reflecting strong initial interest despite the server issues.
The server instability, including queues and login problems, began immediately after the September 16 launch, with issues persisting into September 17, 2025.
Full Circle, the developer, has acknowledged the server queues and is working to improve wait times, noting that such queues are typical for online games during launch.
EA has started adding more servers to handle the load, but connection issues remain, and no specific timeline has been provided for full server restoration.
These types of errors are common during major online game launches, reflecting the challenges of managing high traffic and server capacity.
Players are encouraged to avoid frequent refreshes, ensure stable internet connections, and try logging in during off-peak hours to mitigate issues.
Some players encountered a 'Server Is Under Maintenance' message with error codes, and EA attributed the outage to overwhelming demand, with thousands of reports on DownDetector.
Summary based on 6 sources
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Sources

The Times Of India • Sep 17, 2025
Skate servers crash on Early Access launch day: EA struggles to restore connectivity
Hindustan Times • Sep 17, 2025
Skate servers down: When will EA's ‘Early Access’ be back up? | Hindustan Times
Sportskeeda • Sep 17, 2025
Are Skate servers down (September 17, 2025)? Current server status explored
GameSpot • Sep 16, 2025
Skate Server Queues Lead To Complaints About Always-Online Requirement