It’s Almost Annoying How Fun Splitgate 2 Was

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Shooter games are particularly popular in 2025. Both Battlefield 6 and Arc Raiders are major hits, drawing in lots of players as the year wraps up. Battlefield 6 is a successful revival of a well-known series, and Arc Raiders is helping to define a newer style of game focused on extracting items during gameplay.

It’s a real shame to see Splitgate 2 kind of fall by the wayside. I was really excited about it when it came out in May – the developers seemed so confident they had something special. They were clearly aiming for that classic arena shooter feel, like the Halo and Titanfall games I grew up with, which I loved. But honestly, it felt a bit confused. They tried to chase current trends, like adding battle royale stuff and using modern monetization, and it just didn’t quite click for me. It felt like it couldn’t decide if it wanted to be a nostalgic throwback or a modern shooter.

While Splitgate 2 didn’t make a huge splash in 2025, the problems and controversies surrounding its release were so significant that people will likely be discussing and analyzing them on YouTube for years to come. The game’s journey was incredibly turbulent for the Splitgate team, marked by issues with in-game purchases, a questionable appearance by the CEO at an industry event, developer layoffs, and the unusual decision to temporarily remove the game from availability.

It’s easy to get caught up in the issues surrounding Splitgate 2, but the game itself was actually quite good. It offered satisfying and responsive gunfights, keeping the enjoyable balance of being easy to pick up but difficult to truly master, just like the original Splitgate. Using portals to quickly move around the maps was still exciting, and the simplified controls – now using only one button for portal creation instead of two – made movement feel even faster and more fluid.

Portals continued to be a simple and effective way to get around. Many modern first-person shooters feature complicated movement options, like slide-canceling, but portals are easy to understand and use, allowing even new players to come up with clever tactics.

When Splitgate 2 first launched, it was exciting to watch new players learn how to use the portals. Some struggled, while others quickly became skilled, and it was a lot of fun to take advantage of players who hadn’t quite mastered the game. Back then, it was easy to set up portals in key locations and surprise opponents. However, as more people started playing, the community quickly learned all the tricks and strategies Splitgate had to offer.

The latest game fixes a major problem I had with the first one: it didn’t have a unique look or feel. The original Splitgate felt like a collection of random elements, with characters that were bland and uninspired – the soldiers looked too much like a casual version of Master Chief, and the more unusual characters were even more over-the-top than Fortnite’s Peely.

Splitgate 2 featured a noticeably improved and more distinctive art style, using vibrant, soft colors. The game’s characters and environments were redesigned to be smoother and more polished, making the world feel more realistic and immersive. This new direction helped Splitgate 2 move away from comparisons to other games and establish its own unique visual identity and universe.

A more debated change in Splitgate 2 was the introduction of Factions – character classes, each with special abilities. Similar to what games like Call of Duty and Halo have tried, and often to negative reactions from fans, Splitgate began incorporating elements of “hero shooter” gameplay, like those found in Overwatch.

I’ve found that Factions and special abilities don’t usually have a big impact on matches. I personally would have liked to see game modes that focused more on the basic, fast-paced arena shooting that Splitgate originally offered. Still, including Factions did show that the developers were considering modern shooter trends, even if those trends didn’t quite fit with the game’s goal of recreating a classic arena experience.

Splitgate 2 had a lot of potential, but problems with the studio’s leadership and poor decisions ultimately ruined the experience. It was disappointing to play, knowing how great the game could have been if those in charge had made better choices.

Splitgate had a lot going for it: it was made by a small, passionate team who clearly loved classic games, and it was trying to succeed in a market dominated by huge, constantly-updated titles. The studio, 1047 Games, seemed very open and responsive to its players. However, a series of concerning choices began to emerge. Splitgate 2 felt overly ambitious, with expensive items in its online store and a forced battle royale mode. The controversy surrounding Proulx’s behavior at Summer Game Fest also hinted that the studio wasn’t quite prepared for the attention it was seeking as it attempted to bring back the arena-shooter genre.

Over the last few years, 1047 Games has seen both incredible success and significant challenges at a rapid pace. Their game, Splitgate, didn’t initially gain much traction, but became hugely popular during the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing in a lot of investment. However, instead of continuing to improve the original game, the studio decided to create a sequel. Unfortunately, the sequel’s launch was unsuccessful, leading to the unusual decision to revert the game back to a beta testing phase – something rarely seen in the gaming industry.

Despite facing major challenges, 1047 Games is still here and preparing to launch a revamped version of Splitgate called Splitgate: Arena Reloaded. The studio has overcome difficulties that would have closed many others, and they’re getting a rare second opportunity to succeed.

Players who enjoyed Splitgate, or spent a lot of time with it, probably already have an opinion on whether 1047 Games should continue. However, the core gameplay – a really fun and unique mix of Halo and Portal – is definitely worth another look.

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2025-12-16 20:13