Player pauses before starting a football game

Most games let you skip a tutorial, but not in the same place or in the same way. Some offer a button on the first screen. Others hide it in a pause menu, a settings page, or a prompt that appears only after a cutscene. And some skip only part of the teaching, so a few lessons still reach you later. This guide shows where to look, what you give up when you skip, and what to do when a game gives you no way out.

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Table of Contents

What a tutorial skip option actually does

A skip option lets you leave the guided opening and go straight to the real game. The idea is simple. A veteran of a genre does not need to be told how to move, tap or aim. A newcomer does.

Platform holders have taken a position on this. Apple’s onboarding guidance for games recommends that developers consider a way to skip introductory sequences and tutorials, for players who already know the fundamentals or want to begin immediately. The same page recommends short, clear lessons that arrive in sequence, instead of one overloaded introduction.

There are really three different things hiding under the phrase “skip tutorial”:

  1. A full skip. You leave the tutorial and the game opens up.
  2. A partial skip. You leave the scripted part, but the game still teaches through early quests or hints.
  3. A choice of path. The game puts every lesson in a menu and lets you pick which ones to take, in any order.

Knowing which one you are dealing with saves you from surprises later.

Where to find a game’s tutorial skip option

There is no universal location, but the same handful of places come up again and again. Work through them in this order.

The first prompt or opening screen

Some games ask before the tutorial starts. Ubisoft’s For Honor onboarding FAQ, published in 2023, says players can opt out when they join. Its revised tutorial also puts every lesson in one tab, unlocked from the start, so players choose their own learning path.

If a game shows a prompt like this, read it before you tap. It may be your only chance to decline without hunting through menus.

The pause menu

The pause menu is the most common home for a skip. In New World, GameRant’s skip guide explains that the option appears during the prologue, after the opening cutscene and character creation. You pause, open the Game Menu and choose “Skip to New World.”

A player on Gaming Stack Exchange describes a similar case in an older game, where a pause-menu exit is labeled “Skip Tutorial” during the tutorial. That one is specific to the game, not a rule, but it shows why the pause screen is the first place to look while a tutorial is running. The label sometimes changes depending on where you are in the game.

Settings, system or account pages

If the pause menu has nothing, look at settings. Some games keep the tutorial as a task you can complete later. The support page for Oxide: Survival Island says the tutorial introduces basic mechanics and can be completed afterward through Settings, then System, then Complete Tutorial. That setup works in both directions: you can skip it now and come back when you are ready.

A prompt after a failure

A few games offer a skip only after you struggle. Sportskeeda notes that in GTA Online on older platforms, a skip may be offered after you create your first character, and that failing the tutorial three times works on PS4, Xbox One and the legacy PC version. It also reports that the newer PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Enhanced PC versions replace the introductory tutorial with a Career Builder. Updates change these things, so treat any such trick as something to verify in your current version.

The game’s official support page

When you cannot find it, search the publisher’s support site for the game’s name plus “skip tutorial.” Official pages are updated when the game changes, which forum threads rarely are. Check the date on the page before you follow its steps.

What you give up when you skip

Skipping saves time, but it is not free. Here is what typically goes missing.

Controls and gestures. If a game uses a gesture, a gyroscope or a combination of buttons you have not seen, the tutorial may be the only place that explains it clearly.

Hidden rules. Stamina, scoring and optional objectives are the sort of detail that tutorials spell out and menus do not. Ubisoft says it removed redundant lessons such as stamina, scoring and optional objectives from the revised For Honor tutorial to concentrate on core mechanics. That tells you what developers consider essential and what they consider extra.

Starting rewards. Some games attach rewards to the tutorial. Check whether the reward is paid when you skip or only when you finish before you decide.

A safe place to fail. A tutorial lets you make mistakes against a weak opponent or no opponent at all. Once you skip, your first mistakes cost you real matches.

Skips are often partial

GameRant explains that New World’s option skips the prologue’s basic combat, controls, combat gauntlet and Captain Thorpe fight. Even so, early story quests still teach mechanics such as mining. In other words, skipping removes the lecture, not the learning curve.

That is worth knowing. If you skip and then feel lost in the first hour, you did not make a mistake. The game is simply moving the teaching into play.

How different games reduce tutorial friction

A skip button is only one answer. Ars Technica’s 2023 analysis of skippable tutorials points to several others:

The article argues that optional onboarding helps experienced players reach meaningful decisions sooner. It also reports a reason developers hesitate: players who can skip may then get stuck, complain about something that was taught, or give up. That tension is real. A skip option helps the veteran and can hurt the newcomer who clicks it by reflex.

Some games solve this by teaching through small triggers. PC Gamer’s interviews with developers report that players commonly avoid or miss tutorial information. The designer Bobby Lockhart recommends a teaching order of why the player acts, what they will do, and how to do it. PC Gamer also describes Luca Redwood’s Photographs, which reveals instructions only when players trigger invisible conditions, so there is less dependence on long blocks of text.

City builders take a layered approach. Colossal Order’s developer guide for Cities: Skylines II says tutorials can be turned on or off at any time and reopened through the Advisor in the top-right corner. Tutorials explain how and where to build, while tooltips provide deeper information about each feature. That pairing gives guided steps to those who want them and reference text to those who do not.

If a game has no tutorial skip option

Not every game lets you leave. When there is no button, you still have options.

  1. Look for a practice mode. Many games keep a low-pressure space with no opponent and no stakes, which lets you learn the same things without the scripted hand-holding.
  2. Choose your lessons. Some tutorials are menus, not a forced path. PlayStation’s beginner’s guide to Marvel Tōkon says Startup Battle and Training Mode are for learning at your own pace, and experienced fighting-game players can skip Basics and go directly to Assemble. It adds that Quick Skills offer a simpler one-button alternative before you learn motion inputs.
  3. Check for replayable lessons or hints. Apple’s guidance says replayable tutorials or contextual guidance help players review information they have forgotten. You may not need to remember everything on the first pass.
  4. Play through quickly. If the tutorial is short and cannot be left, tap through it. Most forced tutorials in mobile games take a few minutes.
  5. Read the support page. Developers often publish a quick-start guide that gives you the same information in a minute of reading.

Some publishers also list their learning aids on official pages. PlayStation’s support page for Until Dawn on PC lists control reminders and tutorial reminders in the prologue, which is the kind of setting worth looking for in any game.

Should you skip? A quick way to decide

Your situationBest choice
You have played several games in the same genreSkip, then use practice or hints if you get stuck
The game uses an unfamiliar control schemeKeep the tutorial, or choose only the control lessons
The tutorial gives starting rewardsCheck whether skipping keeps the reward before you decide
The game is competitive and rankedLearn the basics first, because early losses count
You are coming back after a long breakReplay the tutorial if the game allows it
The tutorial is under five minutesFinish it, since the time saved is small

The last row matters more than it seems. A very short tutorial costs less than the trouble of skipping something important.

Our view: a good tutorial respects your time

We build Vladers, a free-to-play mobile football card game where each round is a reaction duel: tap faster than your opponent to win possession, then build the attack. That shapes how we think about onboarding.

The controls are simple taps, so the mechanics themselves are quick to pick up. Our first-match tutorial takes 15 to 30 seconds: it walks you through Pass, Defend, combos and the drag-and-release shot, and you can skip it from the first screen or at any step. Everything else, such as special actions, yellow cards and offside, has its own short lesson in the Tutorials screen, where you can replay any walkthrough whenever you like. The real depth sits elsewhere: in the card stats, the formation you choose and the special actions of your four-card squad. Those are things you learn by playing and by comparing your cards, not by following a script for ten minutes.

Our view: a good tutorial respects your time — overview diagram

So our view of tutorials is this. Teach the one thing a player cannot guess, then get out of the way. Let people who already know what they are doing reach the decisions that matter. And whatever a game skips, it should leave the learning available later, through hints and practice, not behind a wall.

If you are learning a reaction game, the best practice is often outside the tutorial. We wrote about how to build tapping speed step by step, because reflexes improve with deliberate repetition.

— Julien

Learn Vladers at your own pace

If you like football and fast duels, Vladers gives you a way to practice by playing. You open packs, collect fictional footballers from original clubs, set a four-card squad of a goalkeeper and three outfield players, and pick the formation that sets their roles. Then you take it into live League matches, Weekly Clash, Story Mode trials or Friend Challenges. It is free to play, and progression does not require any purchase.

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Ready to try a game where your reflexes and squad choices both count? Play Vladers and build your first squad. If you want to grow your collection faster once you are in, our guide to unlocking new cards covers every route.

FAQ

Is there any way to skip a tutorial in a game?

Often, yes. Check the first prompt, the pause menu, then settings or account pages. If you still find nothing, search the publisher’s support site for the game by name. Some games offer a skip only after the opening cutscene or after you fail a section a few times.

Does skipping the tutorial mean I will miss important information?

Sometimes. A skip may remove the scripted prologue while early quests still teach basics, as GameRant describes for New World. Other games let you finish the tutorial later from a settings menu. If you feel lost after skipping, look for a practice mode or replayable lessons.

Can I come back to a tutorial after skipping it?

In some games, yes. The Oxide: Survival Island support page, for example, says the tutorial can be completed later through the settings, and Colossal Order says Cities: Skylines II lets you turn tutorials on or off at any time. It depends on the game, so check the settings before you skip if you want to keep that option.

What can I do if a game forces me through its tutorial?

Finish it as quickly as you can, then use practice modes or in-game hints to fill any gaps. Apple’s guidance suggests short, staged tutorials, so a forced one is often only a few steps. If it drags, check whether a support page summarizes the same lessons.

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