Splitgate Developers Seek to Revive Interest Amidst Low Player Counts

As the gaming community in the U.S. starts to come alive, ARC Raiders is currently seeing 159,483 players online, while PUBG: Battlegrounds boasts 597,408. In contrast, the free-to-play Splitgate: Arena Reloaded has only 556 players, peaking at 1,070 earlier today—the highest it’s been since its relaunch on December 4. For a game that just made its comeback, those numbers are dismal. Developers at 1047 Games are attempting to spin this situation positively.

Originally known as Splitgate 2, this game has faced significant challenges. It first launched in June last year but was quickly pulled in July due to a wave of negative feedback regarding missing features like leaderboards and steep microtransaction prices. The situation was exacerbated by the CEO’s controversial appearance at a Summer Games Fest event, which drew unwanted attention.

After a five-month hiatus, the game returned last month, but many players may not have noticed. While Splitgate: Arena Reloaded attracted around 27,000 players on Steam shortly after its initial launch, that number plummeted to under 2,000 by the time it re-entered beta on July 22. Its relaunch saw a peak of just 2,297 players on PC, which is alarmingly low, especially considering it failed to surpass the lowest numbers from before the game was taken down.

It’s important to note that Steam is just one platform for Splitgate, and it doesn’t reflect console player counts. While PC typically hosts a significant portion of a game’s audience, we lack data to confirm this. As 1047 pointed out in a defensive statement on their official account, Steam numbers represent only a snapshot of one platform at a specific time. However, SteamDB provides a comprehensive view of player counts, and right now, the numbers are disheartening—seven times more players are engaged with other games.

The statement from 1047 starts with an undeniable truth: “Steam Charts don’t measure fun.” If the 1,000 players still enjoying the game a month after its return are having a blast, that’s what truly matters. There are plenty of great games that didn’t find their audience, and 1047 should be proud of their work and the community they’ve built. However, with a freemium model relying on in-game purchases, the long-term viability of the game is in question.

The team remains committed to improving Splitgate and expresses gratitude to its current players, encouraging others to try it out and form their own opinions. Yet, the statement lacks any data on console sales to support the claim that PC numbers don’t tell the whole story.

It must be incredibly frustrating for the developers to have poured so much effort into a game, only to face a rocky launch and a lack of players upon its return, especially considering it’s free. While responding to negative comments about SteamDB numbers might not be the most professional approach, it has sparked conversation about the game, which could potentially draw in more players. Here’s hoping it works out for them.