Splitgate 2 Dev 1047 Games Hit by Layoffs Amid Turbulent Launch, Co-Founders Say They Won’t Take Salaries ‘As We Lock in to Deliver the Next Phase of the Project’

The free-to-play shooter, often described as ‘Halo meets portals,’ debuted amid controversy when co-founder and director Ian Proulx appeared on stage at Summer Game Fest wearing a hat that read ‘Make FPS Great Again.’ During his presentation, Proulx directly referenced Call of Duty in what was widely viewed as a marketing misstep.

Upon its release, Splitgate 2 introduced a battle royale mode alongside a heavily criticized $145 microtransaction bundle. The game reached a peak concurrent player count of 25,785 on Steam, significantly lower than the original Splitgate’s peak of 67,724. User reviews on Steam remain mixed.

While Steam statistics do not tell the entire story—given Splitgate 2’s multi-platform release across consoles and PC—1047 Games reported over 2.5 million players since launch. Nevertheless, performance has fallen short of expectations. In a post-launch interview with IGN, Proulx admitted he was “surprised” by the reception, noting that they hadn’t anticipated such controversy.

Recently, 1047 Games conducted layoffs affecting what it termed a “small group” of employees, according to a LinkedIn announcement. The same update confirmed that co-founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian are forgoing their salaries as the studio focuses on enhancing the game.

Today we parted ways with a small group of valued 1047 Games team members. We’re still perfecting the Splitgate 2 gameplay experience in response to community feedback, and we are redirecting resources to build the best game for our players. We are sad to see our teammates go, and we are actively working to help them secure new opportunities. Further, our co-founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian have opted not to take salaries as we lock in to deliver the next phase of the project. Thank you to those who’ve built alongside us — we are sad to say goodbye and would not be here without you.

To everyone who’s playing Splitgate 2, we’re continuing to work hard to deliver more things we know you’ll love. We are committed to building this game for the long haul.

Although 1047 Games did not disclose exact numbers or names among those laid off, several key staff members have publicly announced their departures on social media. At the time of publication, Splitgate 2 recorded a peak concurrent player count of 10,059 over a 24-hour period on Steam, with 4,437 players active simultaneously.

In IGN’s review, Splitgate 2 earned a score of 7/10. We stated: “Splitgate 2 is a decent successor to the original that expands on it, but never really surpasses it.”