The game development studio, 1047 Games, recently confirmed a round of layoffs without disclosing the specific number, resulting from challenging circumstances they’re facing. The founders of the company have voluntarily forgone their salaries in a bid to steer the ship back on course.
1047 Games is renowned for their free-to-play shooter game, cleverly described as “Halo with portals,” which initially weathered a rough launch. Co-founder and director, Ian Proulx, made headlines when he sported a cap saying ‘Make FPS Great Again’ during the Summer Game Fest. His public critique of popular game Call of Duty was widely seen as a marketing misstep.
The game’s launch was accompanied by a battle royale mode, and an unanticipated move: a $145 microtransaction bundle that attracted considerable criticism. Despite the negative feedback, the game recorded a peak concurrent player count of 25,785 on Steam. This was significantly lower compared to the peak player count of 67,724 recorded for the first version of the game. User reviews on Steam displayed a mixed sentiment.
However, these statistics only represent a part of the picture since the game was released not only on PC but also on several console platforms. Affirming this, 1047 Games has reported the game having over 2.5 million players across all platforms. Still, it’s evident that the game’s launch hasn’t met the studio’s expectations.
In a follow-up interview after the launch, Proulx revealed his surprise at the reaction the game had received. He acknowledged that they didn’t anticipate the game’s launch would trigger controversy to the extent it did.
1047 Games recently made a public announcement marking a difficult phase. They described the layoffs as “a small group” of the team in a LinkedIn post. This post also confirmed that co-founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian have given up their salaries in their quest to make enhancements to the game.
The company’s full statement shared on LinkedIn was heartfelt, and it read: “Today we departed from a small group of valued 1047 Games team members. We’re persistently trying to fine-tune the gaming experience for Splitgate 2 based on the feedback from our community and are funneling resources towards making this game the best for our players. We are saddened by the departure of our team members and actively helping them find new opportunities. Furthermore, our co-founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian have decided not to take salaries as we strive to deliver the next phase of the project. We express our gratitude to those who helped build alongside us – we regret saying farewell and wouldn’t be here without your dedication. To all who are playing Splitgate 2, rest assured that we’re tirelessly working to bring more features that we know you’ll love. We are committed to building this game for the long term.”
The post, however, didn’t reveal how many or who specifically were laid off. Meanwhile, prominent team members took to social media to announce their departure. Amid these changes, Splitgate 2 had a 24-hour peak concurrent player count of 10,059 on Steam, with 4,437 players at the time of reporting.
Opinions about Splitgate 2 have been divided, with the game earning a respectable 7/10 review score. Critics have lauded it as a successful successor to the original version, expanding on its features but not quite surpassing it.
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