Tony Hawk: Shred is the eleventh main game in the skateboarding series and it is the successor to Tony Hawk: Ride that introduced motion controls as the main means to control the skateboard. Next to skateboarding Shred introduces a snowboarding element to the series with slope runs, big air and a half pipe. It also adds "Avatar" and "Mii" support on the Xbox 360 and Wii versions, respectively. Players use a "skateboard" controller to virtually ride, execute tricks, rack up points and bonuses in a physically interactive virtual environment. Players can interact with the environments alone, or choose multiplayer modes. The game comes with an updated skateboard peripheral, but it is also sold standalone and is compatible with the previous skateboard peripheral from Ride.

The different locations include New Orleans, Morocco, Greece, Hawaii, Melbourne, and the fictitious Huck Jam Park, and all courses have been turned into downhill-type events. The three main control modes have been extended with a fourth one, Casual Plus, as a mix of the on-rails mode with the self-correcting one to create a bordered path that allows for mistakes. The visuals have been turned into full cel-shaded design compared to the previous title, except for the Wii version that has a more realistic style.