Splitgate's Big Comeback Plan
Splitgate has had one of the strangest journeys in modern PC gaming. What began as a cool idea in 2019 a fast arena shooter with Halo style gunplay and Portal style teleportation suddenly blew up in 2021 when it hit open beta and consoles. The game pulled in more than 10 million players and a massive 100 million dollars in funding, and for a moment it looked like the next big competitive shooter.
But that early success did not last. Player numbers faded, excitement cooled, and developer 1047 Games decided to think bigger. Instead of just updating the original game, the studio promised a bold new step forward for competitive shooters with a full follow up, Splitgate 2.
Fast forward to today and we are looking at the latest chapter in that story Splitgate: Arena Reloaded. After a rocky launch and a trip back into beta, the game relaunched in December 2025 with a new name, a rebuilt foundation, and a renewed promise from the developers. The big question now is whether players are actually coming back.
Steam Numbers Versus The Bigger Picture
On paper the situation on PC does not look great. Since the December 2025 relaunch, Splitgate: Arena Reloaded hit a peak concurrent player count on Steam of just under 2,300. It has not broken 1,000 players since Christmas. At the time of writing, there are under 800 people online on Steam. For a freshly relaunched online shooter with competitive ambitions, that is a very small crowd.
That is led to plenty of community chatter about whether the game is already in serious trouble. In response, 1047 Games published a statement pushing back on the doom and gloom. Their main point is that Steam Charts show only one slice of the pie.
The studio points out that:
- Steam Charts only cover the Steam version of the game
- They do not include PlayStation, Xbox, or Epic Games Store players
- They only show a raw number at a specific moment, not how fun the game feels or how engaged the core community is
According to 1047, the last six months were spent rebuilding Splitgate from the ground up. The team says they still strongly believe in the game, their vision, and the community that is helping shape its future. They specifically tease upcoming content like Arena Royale, a new mode clearly aimed at tapping into the battle royale audience.
In other words, the message is simple: do not write Splitgate off yet. The developers insist they are committed to delivering the best version of Splitgate possible, and that the future will be defined more by how the game plays and grows than by the current Steam graphs.
From Breakout Hit To Struggling Sequel
To understand why people are skeptical, it helps to look at how we got here. The original Splitgate launched quietly on PC in 2019, earned a positive reputation, and then exploded when it went into open beta in 2021 before its console release. That wave of more than 10 million players and huge investment money raised expectations to a very high level.
1047 leaned into the hype. By 2024 the studio was calling Splitgate 2 a revolutionary step forward for competitive shooters. But when the sequel finally arrived, it did not live up to that promise. Reviews and player reactions were mixed, and the buzz never hit the same level as the open beta days.
Some of the damage was self inflicted. Studio CEO Ian Proulx showed up at Summer Game Fest 2025 in a hat reading Make FPS Great Again while they were gearing up to reveal a new battle royale style mode. Instead of being a fun slogan, it sparked controversy and distracted from the actual game. Later, an 80 dollar bundle in the in game store annoyed the community even further, with the CEO publicly pointing to a former Call of Duty developer as the person behind the pricing decision. None of this helped build goodwill.
Performance wise Splitgate 2 simply tanked at launch. Player numbers dropped so sharply that 1047 pushed the game back into beta, laid off staff, and returned to the drawing board for a major overhaul. The result of that work is Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, the current version that arrived in December 2025.
The problem for 1047 is that this second chance has not yet sparked a major comeback. Unlike the original open beta surge, this relaunch has been met with more of a shrug on Steam. Even if PlayStation, Xbox, and Epic players boost the total somewhat, it is hard to ignore that Steam is still the main home for a lot of PC arena shooter fans. Splitgate feels like a PC first game, and when your core platform is this quiet, it is not a great sign.
Can Splitgate: Arena Reloaded Recover?
So where does this leave Splitgate now? The reality is probably somewhere between the two extremes. Things are not quite as catastrophic as the raw Steam numbers might suggest since they do not account for other platforms. At the same time, they are not likely wildly better behind the scenes either. Splitgate is no longer the shiny new toy, and the shooter market in 2026 is more crowded than ever.
For players, the situation might actually be an opportunity. If you enjoyed the original Splitgate or just like fast paced arena shooters with a unique twist, this could be a good moment to jump in. Low to moderate player counts are still enough for matchmaking, and the developers seem determined to keep updating the game and rolling out new content like Arena Royale.
For 1047, the path forward is clear but difficult. They will need to:
- Deliver meaningful updates that add modes and maps players actually want
- Avoid store and pricing controversies that erode trust
- Focus on strong PC performance and matchmaking so games feel good even with a smaller population
- Rebuild word of mouth with events, community driven feedback, and maybe even another open beta style push
Splitgate: Arena Reloaded is not dead, but it is a long way from its peak. Whether it can climb back depends less on Steam Charts and more on what 1047 does next and whether lapsed players are willing to give it one more shot.
Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/steam-charts-dont-measure-fun-splitgate-arena-reloaded-studio-says-in-response-to-worries-about-declining-player-numbers-they-dont-show-the-full-picture/
