I was fortunate enough to get hands-on with Splitgate 2 a month before the game entered the current open alpha. I also had the chance to sit down with Ian Proulx, the co-founder and CEO of 1047 Studios, the developer behind this high-octane shooter. As I explored the intense mechanics of Splitgate 2, I found myself gelling very nicely with what was on offer.
As questions were put to Proulx, I learned about the future of Splitgate 2, which is a direct follow-on from the shooter that was released in 2019 on PC, and then later on console. In this sequel, evolution is the order of the day.
More To Do
Ian Proulx was very transparent about the areas in which Splitgate (the first game) fell short. The title had awesome short-term retention, but players dropped off alarmingly fast after realising that there wasn’t much ‘to do’ or chase in the game.
It was super fun, super simple, but it lacked variety and that staying power.
We had really strong short-term retention, our day one and day seven was world class – better than many of the top shooters you’ll see today.
But what we saw is players would come on, play for 3 or 4 weeks, and then say, ‘now what?
The team at 1047 Games has addressed those concerns in the follow-up title.
There will be more things to unlock, and as Proulx said, ‘We can keep you on the hook for longer by giving you more content over time.’ This will include seasonal events, ‘lots of live-ops stuff’, and customisation elements.
The game has been bolstered immeasurably by new movement mechanics, like sliding, and a massive 24-player multi-team mode inspired by Halo’s Big Team Battle mode. It’s also being released on PS4 and Xbox One to serve the last generation of players quite nicely, which is a solid touch from the team.
In the last few years, Splitgate 2’s potential has allowed 1047 Games to expand from a team of 10 to almost 200 employees, all of which are stoked about the impending launch of this fantastic shooter.
I asked Ian Proulx about the proposed operating model for the game, given that so many free-to-play shooters have launched in recent years – and not all of them have succeeded.
Splitgate 2 will be free-to-play.
We’re innovating on gameplay, we’re not innovating on monetisation.
(It’ll feature) traditional industry elements and no pay-to-win or gacha mechanics.
Are you looking forward to the launch of Splitgate 2? Let us know how you’re getting on with the open crossplay alpha in the comments or join the GPlayr forum and be part of the community.
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