The newest Skate[1] game is now available for all players in early access, and while it is free-to-play, that doesn’t mean every piece of content is unlocked for free. Skate includes an in-game shop, where you can spend two different types of currency to acquire various cosmetics for your skateboard and character.
The in-game shop in Skate isn’t set up in the most user-friendly way, so we’re here to break down how to navigate the shop with the game’s two currencies. Below, you can see what these currencies are, how they’re earned in Skate, and what you can unlock with each type.
How to make money in Skate
The two currency types in Skate are: San Van Bucks and Rip Chips. San Van Bucks have a pink bird icon, while Rip Chips have an orange hexagon icon. You can view how much of each currency you have by going to the main menu while in a Skate lobby and tabbing over to the “Store” section, which is the last section on the right in the tab bar at the top of the screen.
If you’re new to Skate or you’ve only played for a couple of hours, you likely won’t have much, or any, of either currency. You especially won’t have any San Van Bucks, as that’s the premium currency in Skate that costs real-life money.
By scrolling all the way down on the store page, you can see the different amounts and prices to buy San Van Bucks in Skate. Here’s a breakdown of the packages for the San Van Bucks:
- 500 SVB – $4.99
- 1,050 SVB – $9.99
- 2,800 SVB – $24.99
- 5,900 SVB – $49.99
- 12,000 SVB – $99.99
When you go to purchase a package of San Van Bucks, you’ll be prompted to your system’s marketplace, and you can enter your payment info there. Then, after paying, you’ll be prompted back to the Skate application, where the San Van Bucks should be automatically transferred into your account.
As for Rip Chips, these are totally free to earn and just require you to complete different objectives in Skate. Completing Challenge Goals across all of the neighborhoods in San Vansterdam will reward you with Rip Chips as well as Rep. As you complete more Challenge Goals, you’ll get closer to unlocking more neighborhoods so you can repeat the process. At the start of Skate, you only have access to one neighborhood.
Skate’s free and paid cosmetics
Now that we’ve gone over how to earn the currencies, what about spending them? Both currencies are only spendable in the in-game shop, and if you head to that page in Skate, you’ll notice that a majority of the cosmetics require San Van Bucks.
San Van Bucks are used to purchase just about every piece of content in the shop. This includes several bundles that have all sorts of cosmetics, as well as individual items for your board or character. The bundles range from 2,800 all the way to 5,900 San Van Bucks, so you’ll need to get out your wallet for those. The other individual cosmetics can range from 200 to 1,000 San Van Bucks.
However, there is one section of the shop that’s solely reserved for Rip Chips. Right above the San Van Bucks packages, you’ll see three boxes with different colors. You can open these boxes by spending varying amounts of Rip Chips to receive unique rewards. The boxes are labeled by their neighborhood, so the more Rip Chips you earn in a certain neighborhood, the more times you can open those specific boxes.
While earning Rip Chips is a slow grind in Skate, this is an easy way to unlock cosmetics for your character without having to spend real-life money. You just have to remember to open the boxes and keep track of your Rip Chips if you want to consistently receive rewards in Skate.