1047 Games sends Splitgate 2 “back to beta,” announces new round of layoffs

1047 Games has announced that its free FPS Splitgate 2 has been pushed “back to beta” and that the studio will undergo a second wave of layoffs as a result.

In an X post, published on July 22 and signed off by studio co-founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian, the studio revealed Splitgate 2 is returning to a beta state following player feedback.

“We’ve heard your feedback, and we agree with you,” the co-founders wrote. “We had ambitious goals with Splitgate 2, and in our excitement to share it with you, we bit off more than we could chew.”

“So we’re going back to beta. We’ll be heads down until early next year, rebuilding major parts of the game to capture the spirit of what made Splitgate special. That means reworking progression from the ground up, adding more portals to our maps, simplifying monetization, refocusing on classic game modes you’ve been asking for, and more, which we’ll share soon.”

Speaking with Polygon, Proulx explained that the biggest change the studio wants to make is developing the game “alongside the community,” with a focus on player feedback and playtesting.

“Now more than ever, we need your help,” the studio wrote on X. “We’re returning not just to our roots in what we build, but in how we build it – with you. That means more playtests, more surveys, more listening, and truly being community first. “

To accommodate the reworks needed on Splitgate 2, 1047 Games has announced that another round of layoffs is on the way, just a month after the studio laid off an undisclosed number of employees in June.

“To give ourselves the time to build the Splitgate you deserve, we’ve made the incredibly difficult decision to reduce certain roles and shift our resources to focus on this rework,” the X post reads. “This is heartbreaking. 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.”

GamesIndustry.biz has reached out to 1047 Games for clarification on the number of redundancies in June and the expected number in the upcoming wave of layoffs.

To “retain as many team members as possible,” the studio is also shutting down the original Spligate’s servers next month – though the developer plans to release Splitgate 2’s Chapter 3 as planned.