This is a plain-language summary, not legal advice. Laws vary by country.
What the community does and doesn’t do
The projects on this site share their own work: tools, documentation and maps built from scratch. They never share the game itself. skate3recomp “does not include Skate 3 retail game files” (README). RPCS3 bans “asking for, providing or discussing illegal download links” (quickstart). skatemods refuses retail districts, official DLC and executables.
Copy protection
In the US, DMCA section 1201 “generally makes it unlawful to circumvent technological measures used to prevent unauthorized access to copyrighted works, including … video games” (US Copyright Office). The Copyright Office reviews exemptions every three years. In 2024 it declined a new exemption that would have let libraries make out-of-print games remotely accessible.
Reverse engineering and custom servers
According to the EFF, “courts have found that reverse engineering for interoperability … can be a fair use.” It also describes the BnetD case, where a fan-made Battle.net server lost: the court held that the DMCA’s interoperability exception didn’t apply, because the game’s EULA didn’t allow using it with a non-Blizzard server. The community Skate 3 server, like others, states that it is not affiliated with EA.
Online games are different
Modern live-service games forbid mods outright. EA’s user agreement treats any “add-on”, “mod”, “hack”, “trainer”, or “cheat” that changes the game in ways EA hasn’t authorized as an Unauthorized Third-Party Program. That’s why skatemods doesn’t cover modding skate. (2025).
Updated 2026-10-01 · Improve this answer on GitHub