On September 3, the developer 1047 Games reported the end of the basic play free FPS Splitgate . He announced that the new work inherited the universe of the work is under development at Unreal Engine 5. The support of SplitGate will continue to continue, and small corrections are scheduled.
SplitGate is a multi-player that combines arena-style interpersonal FPS and Portal systems. Pc (Steam)/PlayStation 4/Xbox One/Xbox Series X | Players can open a portal connected to the entrance and exit throughout the stage. It can be used behind the enemy, as a retreat when an emergency withdrawal, or in various ways.
This work was released on Steam in 2019. The average number of simultaneous connections on Steam was about 300 to 600 people. In July 2021, the open beta version for crossplay for PCs and overseas consoles began to be distributed. With this, the number of players increased at once, and the number of simultaneous connections for all platforms jumped to 65,000. Server loads have risen to the rapid increase in player-based, and at one time, it has taken measures to stop online play (related articles).
Although this work showed a movement to increase momentum, including the player population, it was announced that the official release was postponed indefinitely. The developer 1047 GAMES has determined that the problem of population growth at the time cannot be dealt with simply by adding a simple server and requires more complex measures. It is said that the official release schedule in August has been forgotten. At the same time, the studio was willing to continue to improve this work as a beta version. At present, such a revitalization has gradually calmed down, and the number of simultaneous connected players around 600 to 1000 people recently (SteamDB).
And the developer 1047 GAMES has announced the end of the development of SplitGate. It is said that the function development of this work will be terminated as a result of caution and sufficient consideration. On the other hand, the studio has announced that he has been working on creating a new game that inherits the SplitGate universe. It has been developed in Unreal Engine 5 as a shooting game with a portal element, and has revealed that it will be provided free of charge.
In this announcement, the developer commented that he was aware of the discouragement and questions of SplitGate users. SplitGate revealed that services are maintained online and items and progress are not lost. Furthermore, on September 15, a new battle pass will appear for the work, and it has been reported that all players will be provided free of charge as a return to users. It is said that the support of this work will be continued, and small corrections will be implemented.
In the presentation, the studio is looking back on the success of this work, which began as a small student project, and thanked the users again. Commented that the indie game, which was an indie game, has become equal to the shooting by major publishers. On the other hand, it was necessary to recreate an old system that was originally built by a small team by a newly increased number of staff. Regarding the development of this work, it is said that it was a state in which it was pumping water while remodeling into a spaceship while ensuring the comfort of the boat passengers.
The developer 1047 GAME had been seeing funds earned earlier to expand the development scale. In May 2021 last year, $ 6.5 million (then about 715 million yen) from multiple investors centered on Galaxy Interactive, and at the end of July of the same year, $ 10 million from the venture capital company Human Capital. Announced that it has earned a billion yen). In September of the same year, it was revealed that several companies, led by LightSpeed Venture Partners, had invested $ 100 million. As a result of the expansion of development funds and the expansion of personnel, it may be a form that has increased the willingness to develop new titles.
The studio commented that we are looking forward to the day when they can announce their completely new works. He states that SplitGate’s development end report is not a parting, but a greeting to reunite. SplitGate has been a great success as an indie development FPS. While inheriting the concept of the work, I look forward to the appearance of a new work that will be developed with the latest game engine.
SplitGate is distributed for free for PC (Steam)/PlayStation 4/Xbox One/Xbox Series X | S. Basic play. It supports crossplay and Japanese between models.