We saw some big FPS games like Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 launch and perform incredibly well in 2025, but one title that struggled right out of the gate is Splitgate 2 — now rebranded to Splitgate: Arena Reloaded.
The free-to-play successor to the 2019 Halo-meets-Portal shooter first released on Xbox, PC, and PlayStation in June, but was met with intense backlash against its expensive microtransactions, character skills and abilities that many felt bloated the experience, and the inclusion of a battle royale mode that was seen as trend-chasing by some.
1047 Games Responds to Recent Steam Charts Conversations pic.twitter.com/ir9W0BjFHoJanuary 6, 2026
“Steam charts don’t measure fun,” the studio began. “They show one number, on one platform, at one given moment. They don’t show the full picture or what it feels like to actually play, and they definitely don’t capture the community that’s actively helping shape what Arena Reloaded is becoming (including upcoming content like Arena Royale).”
“Over the past six months, we rebuilt Splitgate from the ground up because we believe in the game, our team, and our community,” the dev continued. “The 1047 team remains committed to delivering the best version of Splitgate possible.”
The studio then went on to thank its community of players for their passion and feedback, before closing with an encouragement for naysayers to “jump in and form your own opinion.”
“And to everyone who hasn’t played yet: Arena Reloaded is free, the gameplay’s the best it’s ever been, and we’d love for you to jump in and form your own opinion. A lot of passionate people worked very hard on it.”
While I do think many focus too much on player counts and Steam charts specifically, it seems like Arena Reloaded has failed to make waves on any platform since its arrival, and one can’t help but wonder if Splitgate will ever find its footing again.
Immediately “unlaunching” a month after release and going dark for half a year was a hugely risky move, and thus far, it hasn’t paid off. Some also argue that 1047 Games should have continued adding more to the more successful original game instead of making a sequel, which I agree with.
Ultimately, Splitgate: Arena Reloaded is the future of Splitgate for better or worse, and it will be interesting to see if the series can recover some of its lost popularity in the coming months. As the devs point out, it is free-to-play, so there’s no reason not to try it out yourself if you’re curious.
Do you think Splitgate: Arena Reloaded will eventually recover and garner a healthy community of players? Let me know in the comments.
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