Shred with friends in Skater XL's new multiplayer beta

The pandemic has put the kibosh on hanging out in person, so the more games with multiplayer modes, the better. And if you've been itching to grab your board and hit the streets or skatepark with your friends, there's now another option.

Skater XL is the latest game to let you spend time with your friends virtually. It now has a multiplayer "free skate" mode that supports up to 10 players. You can skate with random players or create a private room and skate with your pals.

"After a lot of work designing and refining the base for the multiplayer system in internal testing the gameplay is feeling very smooth, lag free and a whole lot of fun," reads the update on Skater XL's Steam page. "The ability to just kick back and skate with the homies is a much needed escape from the tumultuous times we might find ourselves in, and the ability to connect with other people and skate is more important than ever."

The mode has just entered open beta and is currently being treated as a "stress test" on PC, so there may be some bugs or issues. There's a feedback form link in the main menu of the game if you encounter any problems you'd like to report. It's also advisable to remove some or all mods you've been using in Skater XL if you have problems getting the beta to run properly. Custom maps should work, but you need to allow time for them to install so everyone in your session can use them.

To try out the multiplayer beta, you'll need to opt in on Steam by following these instructions:

  • Right click 'Skater XL' in your Steam library and open Properties.
  • Select the 'beta - Open Beta' branch.
  • Steam should start downloading this version of the game.
  • The game name in your library should now show "Skater XL [beta]".

To return to the normal version of the game, repeat the steps but select "NONE - opt out of all betas" in the drop down menu.

Christopher Livingston
Senior Editor

Chris started playing PC games in the 1980s, started writing about them in the early 2000s, and (finally) started getting paid to write about them in the late 2000s. Following a few years as a regular freelancer, PC Gamer hired him in 2014, probably so he'd stop emailing them asking for more work. Chris has a love-hate relationship with survival games and an unhealthy fascination with the inner lives of NPCs. He's also a fan of offbeat simulation games, mods, and ignoring storylines in RPGs so he can make up his own.

Read more
A busy medieval tavern
This long-running cozy tavern life sim on Steam just added online multiplayer, so now you can design and run a medieval pub with your pals
Hello Kitty Island Adventure - Hello Kitty and a player float with balloons together over a field of flowers
Hello Kitty Island Adventure multiplayer: how to play together with friends
Divinity: Original Sin 2
The best co-op games to drag your pals into
Tony Hawk doing a kickflip or whatever the hell it is in the cover art for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 remake is real, and it's coming in July with new skaters, parks, music, and more
The Local gameplay
The Local is a free and blazingly-fast tribute to surf maps and bunny hopping
Inzoi
It sure sounds like Inzoi will be multiplayer—eventually, in some capacity—according to comments by its developers
Latest in Sim
An ancient, angry stone mech from No Man's Sky's new Relics update
No Man’s Sky lets you unearth ancient, angry mechs in the astro-archaeology filled Relics update
Dwarf Fortress adventure mode art
After 23 years of making Dwarf Fortress, even its creator is still 'terrified' of drowning all his dwarves with aquifers: 'Part of the problem is we are just not good at videogames'
Tarn Adams, who cofounded Bay 12 Games with his brother Zach, talks about their single-player simulation game "Dwarf Fortress" during an interview at their home office in Poulsbo, Washington, west of Seattle, on December 9, 2022. - A cult favorite among indie game fans, "Dwarf Fortress" has been available for purchase on the Steam online store since December 6, a first for this title that has been distributed for free since its debut in 2006. The real-time management game, set in a medieval-fantasy world and involving overseeing a group of dwarves seeking to build a mighty fortress, has climbed to the fourth best-selling weekly title on Steam. (Photo by Jason Redmond / AFP) (Photo by JASON REDMOND/AFP via Getty Images)
Dwarf Fortress' creator is so tired of hearing about AI: 'Press a button and it writes a really sh*tty, wrong essay about something—and they still take your job'
Decorations in TCG Card Shop Simulator
TCG Card Shop Simulator finally adds the ability to decorate our stores, and suddenly all my profits are being spent on adorable Pigni posters
A person on a snowmobile riding a track in the forest in game Sledders.
Powder enthusiasts seem pretty pleased with new physics-based realistic snowmobile sim Sledders
Dean Hall at GDC 2025.
Outer space inspired DayZ's Dean Hall to become a modder and game developer, and now he's making a Kerbal successor called Kitten Space Agency
Latest in News
A goblin with sharp teeth, wearing goggles, lets out a mischievous cackle in WoW's latest patch: Undermine(d).
World of Warcraft's started swiping good ideas from one of its most popular user-made UI addons, and it's honestly about time
A female druidic figure clutches a heart riven with thorns in Hunt: Showdown
'We want to increase the cost of silence': Hunt: Showdown 1896's latest update brings a new event, a massive list of bugfixes and a tougher challenge for stealthy players
It's ENA! From the free adventure Dream BBQ!
Mindbending free multimedia adventure ENA: Dream BBQ is out now, has activated all my neurons and opened my third eye
PC Gamer magazine issue 408 Doom: The Dark Ages
PC Gamer magazine's new issue is on sale now: Doom: The Dark Ages
A gigantic terracotta sentinel made of living armor
Total War: Warhammer 3's army of Cathay has broken containment and is making its way to tabletop Warhammer at last
Two brightly colored stormtroopers dressed like Run-DMC stand in front of PAX Australia's WELCOME HOME banner.
Tickets for PAX Australia 2025 are on sale now