Splitgate 2 developer 1047 Games is laying off developers and shutting down the original Splitgate in an effort to revamp the game after launching, in CEO Ian Proulx’s words, “too early.”
The company announced the layoffs in a lengthy statement on X (formerly Twitter) signed by Proulx and CTO Nicholas Bagamian. In it the two said that they “agree” with players that the game wasn’t ready for its June 6, 2025 launch date. “We had ambitious goals with Splitgate 2, and in our excitement to share it with you, we bit off more than we could chew,” they stated.
After promising to solicit more community feedback, the pair revealed the decision to “reduce certain roles in order to “give ourselves the time to build the Splitgate you deserve.”
“These are our teammates and our friends, and they helped build what we have today. They’re receiving severance and job placement support, and we’re committed to doing everything we can to help them through this transition. We hope to bring them back when we can.”
This is the second time the company has laid off developers in 2025. In June, it laid off a “small group” of employees.
The layoffs are not the only cost-cutting measure being undertaken by 1047 Games. The studio is also sunsetting the original 2017 game Splitgate in order to reduce server operation costs, which according to Proulx and Bagamian, cost the company “hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past couple years.” They added that the company is exploring the possibility of offline matches and peer-to-peer multiplayer, potentially sparing it the fate of other permanently-shuttered online multiplayer games.
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Among Proulx’s “mistakes:” a MAGA-inspired hat
Proulx struck a conciliatory tone in an interview with Polygon, stating he’s made “many, many mistakes,” in response to a question about the decision to wear a hat sporting the phrase “Make FPS Great Again” in an appearance at Summer Game Fest this year. “Obviously the vibes are worse because of the hat, but, I think that if it was a 10 out of 10, feature-complete game that delivered on everything the community wanted, they would be playing it right now,” said the CEO.
Players and journalists pressed Proulx about the hat not only for its referencing the slogan of President Donald Trump, “Make America Great Again,” but also for doing so while Los Angeles residents protested against ongoing immigration raids ordered by the Trump Administration. The protests—and the raids—were taking place mere miles from Summer Game Fest.
Proulx first declined to apologize for the hat, saying it was not a political statement intended by it. He would then apologize three days later.
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