New Tony Hawk game next year

A new Tony Hawk game is in development, none other than Tony Hawk has claimed.

The skateboarding legend told Pixelated Geek it will launch next year.

"We're right in the middle of making a whole new plan right now. We're going to do something probably for next year but I can't give too much away," he said. "But definitely we're going to make new games, yes."

The last two Tony Hawk games flopped, leading publisher Activision to confirm it would not release a new skateboarding game this year.

The decision followed poor sales and dismal reviews of 2009's Tony Hawk: Ride and last year's follow up, Tony Hawk: Shred.

Shred suffered terrible sales upon its 2010 release. The game, which comes with a plastic motion-sensing peripheral, sold a paltry 3000 copies during October in the US. Activision let go many from the Robomodo development team before the game was even released.

The game's performance led some to question Tony Hawk's viability as a video game cover star, but in December Activision claimed poor sales were not his fault.

"Tony Hawk does really still have relevance and tremendous appeal for people," Activision Publishing boss Eric Hirshberg said.

"He is a lasting icon. He has that Michael Jordan-ish or Jordan-esque staying power, seemingly. And that doesn't mean that other great skaters haven't come up who are younger and more current, but he really is that kind of Mount Rushmore-level guy in that category, so that's not the issue."