Splitgate 2

''Splitgate 2'' is a free-to-play first-person shooter developed and published by 1047 Games. A successor to ''Splitgate'' (2019), it was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S in June 2025.

Gameplay

''Splitgate 2'' is a first-person shooter. Players can place portals between two points on a map, and they can fire weapons or travel through those portals. The game features several gameplay modes. In addition to the round-based team deathmatch mode, the game introduces Hot Zone, a mode similar to King of the Hill. In Hot Zone, respawn time gradually increases as a match progresses, though successful eliminations will lower the respawn time. ''Splitgate 2'' also has a 60-player battle royale mode. and a map creator named the Lab.

The game has three factions of characters, with each having their own unique gameplay mechanics. The faction "Aeros" is fast and agile for players who prefer fast-paced gameplay; Meridian is a support-focused faction that can heal allies, detect enemy location, and track an enemy's health level; Sabrask focuses mainly on using defensive strategies rather than using portals, and players can place "smart walls" that block enemy attacks.

Development

In September 2022, 1047 Games announced that they have ended the development of ''Splitgate'' to work on a new, free-to-play game set in the same universe. While the first game was created by about 15 people, ''Splitgate 2'' was created by a team of more than 200 people. While the original ''Splitgate 2'' started as a student game, ''Splitgate 2'' was considered by Ian Proulx, the creative director, as a triple-A product. He cited hero shooters, ''Call of Duty'', and ''Halo'' as the game's main sources of inspiration, and compared the game to ''Valorant'', in which a player's success in combat is governed by their "ability to shoot and portal and have good positioning" rather than the use of active abilities. Maps in ''Splitgate 2'' were designed to be more symmetrical and less vertical, with greater similarities to maps from multiplayer games like ''Call of Duty'' than to those of arena shooters.

1047 Games announced ''Splitgate 2'' in July 2024. An open beta including 25 weapons, 15 maps and 10 modes was released on May 22, 2025. The game was released in full on June 6, 2025, for Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X and Series S. ''Splitgate 2'' was designed to be a live service game, with 1047 planning to add and rotate content regularly.

Reception

At the 2025 Summer Game Fest on June 6, 2025, a trailer presentation from Proulx received negative reception from both game journalists and fans when he appeared on the stage wearing a " Make FPS Great Again" hat, while criticizing other FPS games like ''Halo'' and ''Call of Duty''. He said it was not a political statement, although ''PCGamesN'' described it as "tone-deaf" regardless of whether it was. An additional controversy emerged over the game's expensive launch microtransactions, such as a "Nano Swarm" bundle that cost USD $70 even at a 45% discount. Players also accused the developers of hypocrisy for including a battle royale mode, commonly seen in the ''Call of Duty'' series. Proulx responded to the backlash by announcing the price of the bundle and other microtransactions in the game's store would be halved, as well as stating that he believed the development team had innovated sufficiently to not be " hasinga trend" by including battle royale.

References

External links

* {{official website, https://www.splitgate.com/

2025 video games
First-person shooter multiplayer online games
Free-to-play video games
PlayStation 4 games
PlayStation 5 games
Science fiction video games
Unreal Engine 4 games
Video games developed in the United States
Video games with cross-platform play
Windows games
Xbox One games
Xbox Series X and Series S games