Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, a reimagined game that launched on the base of Splitgate 2, saw a relatively mild reception last month, with Steam playercount never reaching satisfactory numbers and dwindling further.
However, 1047 Games is pushing against the notion that these numbers represent the full story of Splitgate: Arena Reloaded. The company released a statement, arguing that these numbers don’t measure fun and are just an unfavorable slice that reflects the data from just one platform at one given moment.
They also state that these numbers don’t show the broader playerbase, the experience players are having while actually in-game, or the feedback the developers are receiving that’s going to shape the future of the project moving forward, like the upcoming Arena Royale mode coming this month.
The message is a direct response to the public narrative that the game is already dead on arrival and that the relaunch has failed.
Steam Charts don’t measure fun.
They show one number, on one platform, at one given moment. They don’t show the full picture or what it feels like to actually play, and they definitely don’t capture the community that’s actively helping shape what Arena Reloaded is becoming (including upcoming content like Arena Royale).
Over the past six months, we rebuilt Splitgate from the ground up because we believe in the game, our team, and our community. The 1047 team remains committed to delivering the best version of Splitgate possible.
To our amazing community: thank you. Your feedback and passion have helped make Arena Reloaded better every day.
And to everyone who hasn’t played yet: Arena Reloaded is free, the gameplay’s the best it’s ever been, and we’d love for you to jump in and form your own opinion. A lot of passionate people worked very hard on it.
The original Splitgate was received incredibly well – the game still has a 90% approval rating on Steam, and its peak playercount was 67,724, according to Steam Charts. The game was heavily praised for its fast-paced gameplay and satisfying gunplay. When 1047 Games announced Splitgate 2, general sentiment was that the studio was making a mistake, leaving something that works very well and is beloved by many behind.
Splitgate 2 launched into a messy response and feedback cycle, not helped by the public perception of Ian Proulx, the studio’s co-founder, who appeared at Summer Game Fest wearing a “Make FPS Great Again” hat and took shots at established franchises.
Eventually, 1047 acknowledged that the game launched too early and announced that it would be brought back into beta to overhaul progression, monetization, and classic modes, in an attempt to recapture the original’s magic.
This proved unsuccessful, however, and the developers decided to make a hard pivot: relaunch Splitgate 2 as Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, citing it being “Splitgate refocused on what made it special in the first place: classic arena combat without factions, abilities, or extra noise.”
Community reaction has largely split into two camps, with some people being sympathetic to the studio’s statement, as they clearly took lots of steps to give the players what they really wanted from the Splitgate title. Others, however, view this as coping after what they perceive as yet another failure.
Splitgate: Arena Reloaded launched with only 2,300 peak Steam concurrent players, but it posts a consistent daily playercount of around 1,000, which is infinitely better than what Splitgate 2 was showing months after release. With a major content update1047 Games on its way, it’s definitely not over for 1047 Games’ newest project. Splitgate: Arena Reloaded could be the studio’s own No Man’s Sky, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, or Cyberpunk 2077 – a redemption story built on regaining goodwill.
