Just a little more than one month after its full release, the playerbase for free-to-play multiplayer portal shooter Splitgate 2 appears to be rapidly floundering. According to the numbers on Steamdb, concurrent player counts on Steam dipped below 1,000 for the first time this week. This represents a nearly 96% decrease from the peak of 25,785 concurrent Steam players it achieved shortly after its official launch on June 6.
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Splitgate fans have increased criticism of the game’s rollout, lackluster features, and bugs on social media, prompting a response from Splitgate 2‘s community manager who goes by Brodrian on Reddit. In answer to a Reddit post advocating for a Splitgate 2 relaunch, Brodrian promised that improvements were on the way for players.
Brodrian empathized with player frustrations by admitting “mistakes were made” and assured the fanbase that the development team was “reading everything” regarding feedback. Despite the troubles the game is facing, Brodrian affirmed that the Splitgate 2 team would not be giving up. The team appears to be focused on addressing as many issues as possible in the present moment while exploring ways to attract a more players in the long term.
Critics of the game complained that it had a bare-bones release while also implementing features like a Battle Royale Mode that were divisive among fans. With declining player counts, recent reviews report that Battle Royale matches are often filled with bots and that matchmaking times are frustratingly long. However, despite its issues, fans of the series still see the potential for the game to succeed and are saddened by how things have turned out so far.
“Battle Royale is filled with bots already. You need to add ranked BR, with tourneys & prizes. Come on. You have something special.. Don’t let it die,” wrote Steam user YUNG DOLPH.
Some of the game’s player problems may also be related to the political controversy it faced on social media during its release. Ian Proulx, the game’s creator and CEO of 1047 Games, wore a “Make FPS Great Again” hat at Summer Game Fest, which drew some criticism online. In the wake of the disapproval, Proulx would initially double down, only to later walk it back with an apology, which served to infuriate both sides of the issue.
In a three-minute video posted to Reddit titled “No Excuses, I’m sorry,” Proulx expressed regret for wearing the hat and didn’t anticipate that it would get the backlash that it did. Proulx also took the opportunity to address the inclusion of the Battle Royale mode in the post, saying it had been part of the series’ vision for a while.
“Our intention has always been to make a great game with multiple ways to play (arena, battle royale, map creator, onslaught). I first thought of the idea for a Splitgate battle royale 5 years ago, but only wanted to make it if I felt it was pushing the genre forward. Our vision has always been to create an arena shooter BR hybrid and something true to Splitgate,” wrote Proulx.
As the Splitgate 2 team attempts to right the ship, it remains to be seen what can be done to bring back players and whether a relaunch will be in the cards if the game intends to maintain its service.
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