Why it gets flagged
ReSkate’s launcher loads ReSkate.dll into skate. and hooks the game’s code. That’s how every game mod loader works, and it’s also what some malware does. From around 1.0.8, Windows Defender and some browsers began flagging the download. The usual detection is Behavior:Win32/DefenseEvasion.A!ml (#47, #27, #30). The !ml suffix marks a machine-learning detection, a guess based on behaviour rather than a known malware signature. On the issue tracker, one player checked it on VirusTotal and found it “legit”, and another explained the detection as a false positive set off by DLL injection.
How to check your copy
- Only download from GitHub Releases. Re-uploads on other sites, YouTube descriptions and Discord DMs are how real malware gets passed around as a popular mod.
- The source is public under the GPL-3.0 at Dingo-Shenanigans/ReSkate. Anyone can read what it does, and the README has an AI disclosure and a privacy section.
- It sends crash reports (a minidump and that session’s log, never your Steam password or login name). Untick Send crash reports in the launcher’s Settings → Advanced to turn this off.
- It never asks for your EA account. It signs in to Steam only to download the supported game build, using Steam’s own QR code or Steam Guard.
Let it run
If you trust the copy you downloaded from GitHub, restore it from quarantine and add the ReSkate folder (the one with Skate.exe) to your antivirus exclusions. Otherwise the launcher can’t read its own files and stops with “Cannot open file for SHA-256”. Since 1.1.0 that error names the file and the folder.
Mods are a separate question
ReSkate itself is open source, but mods come from many authors on Thunderstore. Map and cosmetic mods change game data, and script mods can run code. ReSkate’s README says to install only mods you trust. skatemods lists mods but doesn’t review them.
Can EA ban you?
ReSkate runs an old build of skate. offline and never connects to EA’s servers, and its FAQ says you can’t be banned for using it. The ReSkate team runs its own global ban list for its multiplayer, though. See Can skate. be modded? for the background.
Updated 2026-10-05 · Improve this answer on GitHub