Splitgate Developers Address Player Count: “Steam Charts Don’t Reflect Enjoyment”
1047 Games, the team behind Splitgate, has responded to the buzz surrounding the recent re-launch of their shooter, Splitgate: Arena Reloaded. Released in mid-December 2025, the game hasn’t quite matched the impressive Steam player counts of its predecessors, Splitgate 1 and Splitgate 2, leading some players to question its longevity. In a statement, the developer emphasized that “Steam charts don’t measure fun,” explaining that player counts only reflect “one number, on one platform, at one given moment.” They noted that these figures fail to capture the overall experience of playing the game or the vibrant community that is actively shaping Arena Reloaded.
When Splitgate 2 was rebranded as Splitgate: Arena Reloaded on December 17, it saw a surge in player activity, peaking at around 2,300 concurrent users at launch. However, in the last 24 hours, the game has only reached a high of 952 players on Steam. For context, Splitgate 2 hit its all-time high of 25,785 concurrent players in early June with the introduction of its battle royale mode, while the original Splitgate set a record of 67,724 peak concurrent players back in August 2021.
The studio is encouraging gamers to dive into Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, stating, “The gameplay’s the best it’s ever been, and we’d love for you to jump in and form your own opinion.” A significant new mode, Arena Royale, which will be a battle royale experience, is also on the horizon. While Steam’s player data is accessible, the same transparency doesn’t apply to PlayStation and Xbox, leaving the console performance of Arena Reloaded a mystery.
The journey for Splitgate has been challenging over the past year. A notable incident occurred when one of the studio’s leaders sported a “Make FPS Great Again” hat at Summer Game Fest in 2025, stirring up some controversy. There were also concerns regarding the pricing of microtransactions, and the studio faced layoffs while its founders opted to forgo their salaries. In a surprising move, Splitgate 2 reverted to beta status in July 2025 before its December re-launch.
