This Is How Much Tony Hawk Really Made From His Pro Skater Games

When it comes to sports games, titles like Madden and FIFA come to mind. While these franchises have certainly garnered success over the years, you have to acknowledge one of the most lucrative sports game franchises of all time: Tony Hawk Pro Skater. For many, 1999's Tony Hawk Pro Skater was their first introduction to the world of skateboarding. For the titular Tony Hawk himself, this was his first foray into the gaming industry.

"It changed my life. And, it was a majority of my income for sure," Hawk said in an interview with FOX Business. It turns out Pro Skater and its royalties gave Hawk a stable income flow, allowing him to take advantage of more opportunities and take a rest from constant competitions. Over the course of the franchise's 16-year run, the series earned approximately $1.4 billion in sales.

On The Nine Club podcast, Hawk tells the story of sitting down with his contact at Activision after the release of one of the games. "He's like, so, things are way bigger than you ever thought and he handed me a check for four million dollars. That happened." This huge windfall had been totally unexpected on Hawk's part; optimistically he had wondered if he might receive the tidy sum of one million dollars at the time.

Examining how utterly successful the franchise was seems to give credence to the rumors about Pro Skater remakes. In 2019, pro skater Lizzie Armanto let slip that a new game was on the way. Furthermore, industry insiders have suggested there is definitely something secretive going on involving skateboarding at Activision. 

Take these rumors with a grain of salt: Activision and Tony Hawk split ways after the lackluster release of Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5, and Hawk has since moved on to putting his name on mobile games rather than full-fledged console releases. Perhaps Hawk will be tempted to work with Activision again for the chance at another four million dollar paycheck.