1047 Video games cofounder Ian Proulx took the stage at Summer season Sport Fest on Friday to advertise his new recreation Splitgate 2 by calling out the present state of on-line shooters. Eschewing the advertising and marketing converse of most of his friends on the shiny showcase, he mentioned he desires Titanfall 3 to return out and referred to as his new recreation’s shock battle royale mode “fucking superior” whereas sporting a “Make FPS Nice Once more” hat.
Splitgate 2 is a free-to-play arena-style shooter the place gamers deploy portals to mess with physics and the material of actuality to outwit their opponents. “I grew up enjoying Halo and I’m bored with enjoying the identical Name of Obligation yearly and I want we might have Titanfall 3,” Proulx mentioned on stage alongside host Geoff Keighley. He added that the brand new battle roayle mode goals to mix the old-school area shooter sensibility with a mechanic to portal to different worlds.
Out at this time on console and PC after a beta final month, 1047 revealed that the brand new mode goes stay alongside the remainder of the sport. The subtext of Proulx’s pitch channeling President Trump’s slogan was clear: whereas EA cancels video games and Activision leans into predictable cash-grabs, the underdog staff at 1047 is shaking issues up with a recreation by avid gamers for avid gamers.
In the meantime, the riff on “Make America Nice Once more” occurred shortly after a conflict between Los Angeles residents and legislation enforcement over ICE raids within the metropolis’s garment district solely blocks from the place Keighley’s Summer season Sport Fest Play Days business occasion takes place this weekend. Trump has ordered the immigration company to arrest a report variety of individuals day-after-day for deportation at the same time as ICE detention facilities are criticized for overcrowding and lack of meals.
Proulx adopted up on social media in a while to elaborate his look. I’m not right here to apologize however I’m right here to make clear,” he wrote. “This isn’t a political assertion, it’s fairly actually what it says, so take it at face worth. The state of multiplayer FPS video games is tragically stale. We hope to repair that, whether or not you need Area, Battle Royale, Onslaught, or Map Creator.”
However many nonetheless dunked on the Summer season Sport Fest stunt, joking about Splitgate 2 fixing the “tragically stale” state of multiplayer shooters with a battle royale mode and a trailer set to Think about Dragons. Others referred to as out Proulx’s dig at Name of Obligation, closely criticized for its more and more costly microtransactions, whereas his personal free-to-play recreation has a $70 pores and skin bundle in it.
“We perceive your criticism,” the studio responded to at least one participant who identified the irony. “This pack options our most original skins with advanced animations & art work. We’ve got quite a lot of cheaper choices. The sport is free to play, & you don’t want to purchase something to get pleasure from it to its fullest. Nothing is pay to win & by no means will likely be.”
The unique Splitgate launched in early entry in 2019 and spiked in recognition. The get together didn’t final, nevertheless, and by 2022, the studio deserted the sport to work on a brand new venture. Final yr it revealed that new venture was truly simply Splitgate 2.
Replace 6/7/2025 11:57 a.m. ET: Added additional remark from 1047 Video games and folks’s response.
.
