SPLITGATE 2

If it ain't broke, don't fix Split

Developer/publisher | 1047 Games

Format | PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series

Origin | US

Release | 2025

Don't be fooled by the hot-pink gloss. The developers of Splitgate's successor may have slapped on some colour and reimagined it as a class-based shooter, with a reveal trailer that foregrounds three pinup heroes, but at heart Splitgate 2 is very much of the old school.

The same was true of its viral-smash predecessor, which not only married Halo with Portal but did so while delivering the neat load-outs, tight maps and fast, meaty gunplay that caused so many of us to imprint on this genre in the first place.

Unlike many of its contemporaries, the first Splitgate was delightfully indifferent to how much time you had to spare it. Yes, your K:D ratio would benefit from a bit of time getting to grips with the intricacies of its portal system, and of course it was easier to slip around the maps as their layouts grew familiar (something tested as new routes and shortcuts were wormholed into existence).

But overall, in line with the arena-based presentations of its shootouts, this was a very sporting vision of warfare, one where you couldn't grind out a better grenade.

In the long term, though, this anti-FOMO design may actually have worked against Splitgate as much as for it. At its August 2021 peak, the game boasted over 67,000 concurrent players. By July 2024, this had plummeted to fewer than 600. As 1047 CEO and creative director Ian Proulx reflects, Splitgate is a "super-fun game," but after playing it for three or four weeks, "you've kind of experienced everything there is to do."