1047 Games, the developers of the recently launched and entirely free to play Splitgate 2 have begun making layoffs today, affecting ‘a small group of valued staff.’
It’s been a rough road for Splitgate 2, despite having an impressive ‘Open Alpha’ test back earlier in the year. The alpha’s debut of 24-player Multi-team Portal Warfare, along with the playable debut of other fresh game modes and maps, proved to be very popular and well received.
Alas, an ill-fated appearance from Ian Proulx, CEO & Co-Founder of 1047 Games at Summer Game Fest led to a fair amount of criticism. An edgy speech about the state of FPS games and accompanying edgy hat just did not go down well at all, despite the announce of a Battle Royale mode. I was in the audience – there was not a lot of applause.
Writing on Linkedin, 1047 Games official account posted the following about the Splitgate 2 layoffs, saying: “Today we parted ways with a small group of valued 1047 Games team members. We’re still perfecting the Splitgate 2 gameplay experience in response to community feedback, and we are redirecting resources to build the best game for our players. We are sad to see our teammates go, and we are actively working to help them secure new opportunities. Further, our co-founders Ian Proulx and Nick Bagamian have opted not to take salaries as we lock in to deliver the next phase of the project. Thank you to those who’ve built alongside us—we are sad to say goodbye and would not be here without you.
To everyone who’s playing Splitgate 2, we’re continuing to work hard to deliver more things we know you’ll love. We are committed to building this game for the long haul.“
While I think the decision for management to take a pay break is a savvy one, it’s a shame to see the developers that worked on the game bear the real brunt of what could have been a much smoother and smarter launch. I interviewed Ian back at Gamescom 2024, and he had big plans for success for the game. It’s a shame to see it not hitting where he imagined it would.
We recently reviewed Splitgate 2, with our Staff Writer Austin saying “Splitgate 2 is solid mechanically but underwhelming in nearly every other area. For a sequel, a game that the studio had to stop all production of the first game to focus on, it doesn’t seem to do much more to improve on the original. The inclusions over the first game, like the Battle Royale, feel tacked on and don’t add anything new to the genre. Maps, modes, weapons, abilities, and perks all feel uninspired and wholly unoriginal, and I somehow think they made portals less effective in the sequel than in the first game.
While there are worse shooters on the market than Splitgate 2, there are a ton of better ways to spend your time as well. The game is free, so it’s worth a download if you’re curious, but I’m not sure you’ll end up wanting to spend a ton of time on the game as it currently sits.“
Are you enjoying Splitgate 2? Let us know in the comments below.
Arena quick mode is really fun. It isn’t reinventing the wheel, but people are actually playing objectives and generating some pretty competitive matches.
Onslaught? Dead. Gating (pun intended) Team Death match behind 50,000 XP means people go into that mode to… wait for it… play Team Deathmatch. The mode is dead. Seventeen (!) minute waits even on PS5.
Can’t comment on battle royale, that game type is past it’s expiration date for me, in any game. But if you have MS rewards points and pick up the starter pack, use your “splicoins” to unlock premium battle pass, you can, like Fortnite, accumulate what you need to unlock the next chapter for free.
Also, this dude forgoing a paycheck or to is hardly heroic, his dad is the cofounder of intuit (Turbo Tax). Has to be worth at least a few hundred million dollars.
I hope they find a sustainable course, the game is damn fun when it’s just trying to be Unreal Tournament with portals and a progression system. I hope they sort it out.
If they were “valued” they would not have been laid off. Something tells me they just were not that great at their job lol.