When a CEO doesn’t understand their player base, you get exactly what’s happening with Splitgate 2.
Just weeks after launch, developer 1047 Games laid off part of its team. An outcome that, frankly, feels inevitable given how the launch was handled. This wasn’t just about one bad PR move or one overpriced bundle. It’s about a fundamental disconnect between the product and the people it was supposed to serve.
And now, Splitgate 2 has three major problems to fix, each one a steep climb on its own. Together? That’s a mountain. Can Splitgate 2 recover from its rough start or is trust already broken?
The Game Isn’t Fun And Players Aren’t Quiet About It
At the time of writing, Splitgate 2 is sitting on mixed reviews on Steam.
That’s not from people piling on because of CEO Ian Proulx’s behavior. These are real complaints from real players who gave the game a fair shot. What’s the verdict?
- Portals aren’t fun.
- They didn’t want a battle royale.
- They’re tired of battle passes.
This isn’t a case of a misunderstood masterpiece. The current version of Splitgate 2 just isn’t connecting with its core audience.
Losing Trust, Losing Players
Even if the gameplay improves, there’s still a trust problem. Splitgate 2 launched with a $145 microtransaction bundle. Tone-deaf pricing that triggered immediate backlash. The studio later walked it back and issued partial refunds, but the damage was done.
That might have been survivable if it wasn’t paired with another marketing misstep: Ian showing up at Summer Game Fest in a “Make FPS Great Again” hat. Meant as parody or not, the optics were terrible.
The result? Splitgate 2 debuted with a peak of just 25,785 concurrent Steam players. Less than half the original game’s 67,724. That early momentum is already gone.
Leadership Decisions, Family Ties, and Public Perception
1047 Games says it’s “redirecting resources” and refocusing efforts. Both Ian Proulx and co-founder Nicholas Bagamian announced they would not be taking salaries to help the studio push forward. That sounds noble, but let’s zoom out a bit.
Ian’s father, Tom Proulx, co-founded Intuit, the company behind Quicken and TurboTax. He’s also chairman of 1047 Games.
That connection may raise eyebrows. Intuit’s products are widely criticized for being overpriced, frustrating to use, and kept afloat mainly by a lack of competition. Sound familiar?
Once players realize who’s on the boardroom roster, they may start to question whether Ian refusing a salary is about sacrifice or optics. That’s a PR storm waiting to happen.
Is Recovery Even Possible?
Splitgate 2 now faces three enormous challenges:
- Make the game fun to play.
- Win back player trust and goodwill.
- Find a monetization model that doesn’t alienate the community.
Most comeback stories, No Man’s Sky, Cyberpunk 2077, only had to fix two of those. And even then, it took years. Splitgate 2 has to fix all three. That’s not impossible… but the odds aren’t great.
This isn’t just a case of a game struggling at launch. It’s a case study in how quickly trust can be lost when leadership misunderstands what their community wants.
Splitgate 2 has a steep hill to climb, and layoffs are just the first fallout. Whether they make it to the other side will depend on one thing: not how fast they can fix the game, but whether players believe they’re trying to fix it for the right reasons.
Time will tell. But right now, they’re playing from behind.
