1047 Games has announced that it is closing future development on its free-to-play, first-person shooter (FPS) Splitgate.
In a statement posted to the game’s Twitter account, 1047 Games thanked fans of Splitgate for their enthusiasm and said the portal-based shooter’s popularity would not be possible without their support.
It went on to say that the level of success achieved by Splitgate was unanticipated and the studio also recognises that “few” indie games reach such heights. “That initial success brought an opportunity to turn what started as a college dorm dream project into an AAA game that could stand toe-to-toe with shooters from the biggest publishers in the industry,” 1047 said, before continuing that this has also meant it has been able to recruit “top-tier talent”.
With that success though, Splitgate development has turned into “trying to rework old content and systems that were originally built by a handful of people,” the studio said. 1047 likened the process to “trying to turn out boat into a rocket ship” whilst also trying to keep the original fanbase happy as well as increase the scale and scope of the game.
Important announcement from 1047 Games about the future of Splitgate: pic.twitter.com/5E0YG1DWQm
— Splitgate (@Splitgate) September 2, 2022
Within the statement, 1047 Games announced it is now going to focus on a new game which will be set in the Splitgate universe and implement “revolutionary, not evolutionary” changes. The studio confirmed, “It will be a shooter, it will have portals, and it will be built in Unreal Engine 5,” before confirming that it will be free.
There is limited information available about the new instalment, but in an “ask me anything” on Reddit the creator of Splitgate and CEO of 1047 Games, Ian Proulx, said that lore will be a “much bigger” part of the next game and summarised the goal for it as “world domination”.
He also stated that the next game is something he’s been thinking about privately for almost a year, however the team “officially started transitioning to the new game in early July.” The studio’s next game will “not release in 2022 or 2023,” and Proulx added that 1047 Games will “most likely” publish the game independently.
Splitgate will not be brought offline, and will receive a new battle pass on September 15. Items and progression will not be lost, and as a thank you to the community, 1047 is offering the battle pass for free as a “thank you for playing Splitgate”.
1047 closed off its statement by confirming that Splitgate will still receive smaller updates and fixes, and support for the game will remain in place, but the main focus of the studio is on the “entirely new” shooter.
More information on the future development of Splitgate and the upcoming game can be found in a frequently asked questions section of the game’s website. Here, 1047 has confirmed that Splitgate will not be coming to the Epic Games Store as previously planned, nor will it be released on any other platforms.
In other news, Glen Schofield, the founder of Striking Distance Studios, has apologised after a tweet he made seemingly glorifying crunch culture went viral.
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