Developed by 1047 Video games, Splitgate is a free-to-play area shooter that mixes Halo gunplay with Portal-style motion. It made a splash in 2021, peaking at over 60,000 concurrent gamers on Steam. The numbers ultimately dipped — as they do — however the unique constructed a stable, loyal group.
Only a 12 months later, in 2022, Splitgate 2 was introduced: a full sequel inbuilt Unreal Engine 5. Improvement on the unique stopped, and the studio promised a much bigger, extra full recreation with new methods, modes, and correct live-service assist.
It launched on June 6 of this 12 months, and peaked at solely 25,000 gamers. Lower than a month later, it’s fallen beneath 1,000. The drop-off was quick. Matchmaking broke down, and damaging suggestions unfold throughout the Web.
So what occurred? The brand new maps restricted portal use, the mechanic that outlined the sport. A half-baked battle royale mode was thrown in. Ranked was delayed. Servers struggled. And monetization pissed gamers off: $80 bundles and $34 portal skins, regardless of earlier guarantees of anti-corporate design.
The builders reacted by reducing costs and laying out a roadmap — new maps, weapons, a group editor — however it wasn’t sufficient.
Then there was the “Make FPS Nice Once more” hat the CEO wore at Summer time Video games Fest. Meant as satire, possibly, however it got here off as political and cringey. As a substitute of doubling down on what made Splitgate enjoyable, the group tried to show the sequel right into a genre-defining assertion. It missed the mark.
So, Splitgate 2 turned out to be a colossal failure. However hey, possibly Splitgate 3 will work out. We’ll discover out when 1047 Video games pronounces it subsequent 12 months.
