Splitgate 2 developer 1047 Games has confirmed an undisclosed number of layoffs, with the co-founders of the studio opting not to take salaries as they bid to turn things around.
The free-to-play ‘Halo with portals’ shooter launched under a cloud after co-founder and director Ian Proulx took to the Summer Game Fest stage wearing a hat that read ‘Make FPS Great Again.’ During his speech, Proulx called out Call of Duty in what was considered a marketing gaffe.
When Splitgate 2 launched, it did so with a battle royale mode and a heavily criticized $145 microtransaction bundle. Splitgate 2 saw a peak concurrent player count of 25,785 on Steam, well below Splitgate’s 67,724 peak concurrent player count. Steam user reviews remain on ‘mixed.’
Steam stats do not paint the whole picture, of course, given Splitgate 2 launched across consoles as well as PC. Indeed, 1047 Games has said Splitgate 2 has had over 2.5 million players. But clearly, things have not gone as well as the studio had hoped. In an interview with IGN shortly after launch, Proulx said he was “surprised” by the reaction, admitting “we didn’t expect this to be nearly as controversial as it was and we didn’t intend for it to be.”
Now, 1047 Games has suffered a round of layoffs, which it characterized as “a small group” of staff in a post on LinkedIn. Also in the post came confirmation that co-founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian have opted not to take salaries, as the studio aims to improve the game.
Here’s the statement in full:
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 Nicholas 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 1047 did not specify how many were let go, or who exactly, a number of key staff have announced their departures across social media platforms. Meanwhile, Splitgate 2 had a 24-hour peak concurrent player count of 10,059 on Steam, with 4,437 players on Valve’s platform at the time of this article’s publication.
Splitgate 2 secured a 7/10 in IGN’s review. We said: “Splitgate 2 is a decent successor to the original that expands on it, but never really surpasses it.”
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
