Splitgate 2 Is A Colossal Failure

Developed by 1047 Games, Splitgate is a free-to-play arena shooter that mixes Halo gunplay with Portal-style movement. It made a splash in 2021, peaking at over 60,000 concurrent players on Steam. The numbers eventually dipped — as they do — but the original built a solid, loyal community.

Just a year later, in 2022, Splitgate 2 was announced: a full sequel built in Unreal Engine 5. Development on the original stopped, and the studio promised a bigger, more complete game with new systems, modes, and proper live-service support.

It launched on June 6 of this year, and peaked at only 25,000 players. Less than a month later, it’s fallen below 1,000. The drop-off was fast. Matchmaking broke down, and negative feedback spread across the Internet.

So what happened? The new maps restricted portal use, the mechanic that defined the game. A half-baked battle royale mode was thrown in. Ranked was delayed. Servers struggled. And monetization pissed players off: $80 bundles and $34 portal skins, despite earlier promises of anti-corporate design.

The developers reacted by cutting prices and laying out a roadmap — new maps, weapons, a community editor — but it wasn’t enough.

Then there was the “Make FPS Great Again” hat the CEO wore at Summer Games Fest. Meant as satire, maybe, but it came off as political and cringey. Instead of doubling down on what made Splitgate fun, the team tried to turn the sequel into a genre-defining statement. It missed the mark.

So, Splitgate 2 turned out to be a colossal failure. But hey, maybe Splitgate 3 will work out. We’ll find out when 1047 Games announces it next year.