Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard about what went down in San Vansterdam this week: M-Corp, the city’s corporate overlords, are now the city’s former corporate overlords.

Just in case you have been rock-dwelling and don’t get how huge this news is, here’s a little backstory: during San Van’s boom period in the 1980s, a multinational investment conglomerate known as “M-Corp” (though I think they went by another name back in the day) started investing heavily in the city and, eventually, through a combination of deep pockets, influence, campaigns, and corruption*, managed to take over the place. It quickly became apparent that M-Corp had a single priority: profit. Over the following long and painful decades, their growth-at-all-costs approach throttled the city’s once thriving creative and collective spirit. Fun and self-expression became a thing of the past. Skateboarding? Forget about it. If it wasn’t filling M-Corp’s coffers, it was out. 

* The fine folks at SV Legal would like us to state that any mention of alleged corruption or otherwise illegal activity is merely speculation.

Fast-forward to 2024, and it looks like M-Corp’s “alleged” misdeeds have finally caught up to them and, despite what Kook of The Castle Richie Dandle has been saying, it’s over for M-Corp and their reign of terrible vest.

That brings us to today and what comes next: a new era for San Vansterdam. Those guys made a serious mess, so things are a little nuts around here, but with the help of some old friends — and you — we’re confident we’ll be able to right the ship and get the city ready, (and knob-free!) for visitors in no time. 

Sign up to become a skate. Insider today for a chance to playtest and help shape the future of skate. Console playtesting is coming this Fall 2024. If you’ve already signed up, hang tight — we haven't forgotten about you. Keep an eye on your inbox for an invite to future playtests in the coming months as we continue to welcome more and more players into San Vansterdam.