Splitgate was a fresh passing fad when it briefly exploded in 2021, combining the feel of an old-school arena shooter with the novel, brain-bending mechanics of an on-demand portal, and now the team behind it is promising an even bigger and better sequel in 2025 as the race to become a live-service giant heats up.
Created by 1047 Games, Splitgate 2 will remain free-to-play and cross-gen on both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, plus coming to PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. The studio explains: “Three unique factions allow players to choose and progress based on their preferred gameplay style and competitive strategy, while a wide variety of arenas, weapons and modes keeps things fresh.”
Below is the cinematic trailer announcing the game:
This time, the game is built with Unreal Engine 5 and produced by a much larger team than the original. It’s staffed with veterans of competitive games like Call of Duty, Overwatch, and Valorant, as well as single-player games like God of War: Ragnarok and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. There’s a free app you can download to learn more about the in-game world and the five-issue comic arc. In 2024, it’s no longer enough to show a cool trailer for a game that’s fun to play.
Splitgate first launched in Early Access in 2019, but interest in the mash-up only peaked when it was released in beta on PC and consoles, leading to sporadic outages and downtime while they fixed server issues. The developers eventually abandoned the game in 2022 to work on a sequel, but the servers remain up and people still play.
Watching a few matches of Splitgate really gives a sense of the promise and potential of its gameplay feel and mechanics, provided 1047 can get away with the art direction, worldbuilding, and map design this time around. Based on the first trailer, Splitgate 2’s characters are still a bit bland in appearance, but the arena looks interesting enough, at least for a cinematic reveal.
