Splitgate 2 Will Revert To Beta As Studio Lays Off Staff And Shuts Down OG Game

In returning to beta, they plan on “rebuilding major parts of the game to capture the spirit of what made Splitgate special. That means reworking progression from the ground up, adding more portals to our maps, simplifying monetization, refocusing on classic game modes you’ve been asking for, and more, which we’ll share soon.” They said they’re planning on re-releasing next year.

Alongside the news came the announcement that the team is laying off staff to give the studio time to complete the rework. As an additional cost-saving measure, they will also be shutting down the servers for the original Splitgate next month.

As for some of the issues players had at launch, criticisms include the absence of a ranked mode or progression systems, overpriced microtransactions, a lackluster aesthetic, and gameplay choices like the inclusion of a class system that made players feel as though the game was chasing trends. Perhaps more fundamentally, many took issue with how the game’s central mechanic, its portal gun, was underutilized in many maps.

It also didn’t help that company CEO Ian Proulx was embroiled in controversy last month when he wore a hat that read “Make FPS Great Again” during Summer Games Fest in a clear reference to Donald Trump’s campaign slogan. While he later apologized, it was a tone-deaf move that alienated much of the game’s potential audience and made it that much harder for the game to break through in an already crowded shooter market.