Game NewsIt’s not every day you see a game reverse-launch itself. Yet, that’s precisely what 1047 Games announced this week: Splitgate 2 is being “unlaunched” less than two months after its official debut.
Frankly, I’m torn—on one hand, I respect the bold course correction; on the other, I can’t help but wonder if this isn’t a sign of deeper trouble.
Going Back to Beta
On June 6, 2025, Splitgate 2 went live. By early June, community feedback poured in: pricing felt off, features felt missing, and bugs still lingered.
Now, 1047 Games is hitting the reset button—rolling the shooter back to a quasi-beta state while the team rebuilds core systems. It’s a Hail Mary pass, no doubt, but let’s be honest: can going back to beta really rekindle player trust, or is this clutch play more about buying time?
Players won’t lose access entirely. Chapter 3 will still launch, and critical fixes will trickle through. But otherwise, Splitgate 2 as we know it is on pause until early 2026, when the studio promises to return with “big, sweeping changes.” It’s almost cinematic—portal guns down for now, portals lining up on a new horizon.
Behind the Curtain: Staff Cuts and Salaries
In tandem with the unlaunch, 1047 Games confirmed layoffs affecting a portion of its workforce. Ouch. They’re receiving severance and placement support, sure, but that kind of reduction isn’t trivial.
To add salt, co-founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian have voluntarily forsworn their salaries while “locking in to deliver the next phase.”
I mean, there’s something almost romantic about founders sacrificing pay to prop up their vision, right? Yet, the economics are stark: running servers, paying devs, marketing the title—it all adds up fast.
And speaking of servers, the original Splitgate will be shuttered next month, which, well, feels like closing a chapter on a cherished relic.
Listening to the Community
Between the initial launch hype and the current scramble, fans have been loud about what Splitgate 2 needs. Here’s the short list:
- A proper leaderboard and meaningful progression
- More portal-friendly walls on maps
- A streamlined, classic arena mode experience
Hard to argue with any of that. It’s almost quaint: go back to what worked, polish it, then sprinkle in fresh ideas. But as anyone who’s chased feedback knows, too many cooks—or players—can spoil the broth.
Will 1047 strike the right balance, or get tangled in endless “community-driven” redesigns?
Monetization: From Confusing to …?
The game stays free-to-play, but its store has been, let’s say, controversial. An $80 cosmetic bundle? Yeah, that was slashed to $40 after player outrage. Proulx admits “basically everything” in the store was overpriced until they ditched their head of monetization. Going forward, he’s eyeing a simpler battle pass: one flat purchase for linear rewards over three months.
Sounds reasonable, yet I can’t help but hedge: what if the new model still rubs people the wrong way? Monetization is a delicate dance—one misstep and you lose goodwill faster than a portal lets you cross a map.
So, What’s Next?
1047 Games has bought itself time. Early 2026 is the comeback window. They’ll drop regular playtests, surveys, maybe even livestream brainstorms.
Will this approach nudge Splitgate 2 back into players’ hearts? Or is the FPS market too jam-packed to give it a second chance?
Only time will tell. For now, I’m cautiously optimistic—part of me admires the honesty of “we launched too soon” and the humility of cutting paychecks. Yet I wonder: can this portal-hopping shooter really recapture the magic of its first outing, or is this ambitious pivot a last-ditch gambit?
What do you think? Will you stick around for the rebirth of Splitgate 2, or has your patience run out?
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Sources
- www.polygon.com/news/614738/splitgate-2-unlaunch-announcement-1047-games-layoffs
- www.ign.com/articles/splitgate-2-will-go-back-to-beta-to-undergo-a-massive-rework-amid-more-layoffs-and-splitgate-1-shutdown
- www.thegamer.com/spitgate-2-studio-developer-layoffs-controversy-player-figures-ceo-salary/
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