Splitgate 2 dev responds to player count concerns as Steam charts show low numbers after ‘Arena Reloaded’ relaunch — “They don’t show the full picture”

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In 2025, major first-person shooter games like Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 were successful, but Splitgate 2—now known as Splitgate: Arena Reloaded—had a difficult launch.

The free-to-play sequel to the 2019 shooter launched on Xbox, PC, and PlayStation in June, but quickly faced criticism. Players disliked the costly in-game purchases, the complex character abilities that made the game feel overwhelming, and the addition of a battle royale mode which many considered a forced attempt to follow popular trends.

The game was briefly available to the public before being taken back into beta testing in July. It stayed in beta until December 17th, when developer 1047 Games re-released it as Splitgate: Arena Reloaded. This relaunch included new maps, weapons, and a revamped progression system, and removed the previous character abilities.

Even after a major update, the game hasn’t regained its popularity. It only reached a peak of 2,275 players on Steam when it launched, and since then, the number of players has generally stayed between 300 and 900, according to SteamDB.

It’s no surprise that people are talking about how Splitgate: Arena Reloaded is performing on Steam and how popular the game is. Recently, 1047 Games addressed concerns about the number of players on Steam, explaining that those numbers don’t accurately reflect the game’s overall success.

As a researcher looking at player engagement, I’ve found that Steam charts alone aren’t a reliable indicator of how much people are *enjoying* a game. They only show a single data point – how many people are playing *right now* on Steam. This doesn’t give us the complete story. It doesn’t reflect the actual experience of playing, or the vibrant community that’s actively involved in developing the game – including contributing ideas for future content like Arena Royale. We need to look beyond just those numbers.

We completely rebuilt Splitgate over the last six months because we’re passionate about the game, our team, and all of you playing it. The team at 1047 is still dedicated to making Splitgate the best it can be.

The studio expressed gratitude to its players for their enthusiasm and input, and challenged critics to try the game and decide for themselves.

If you haven’t tried Arena Reloaded yet, I really encourage you to give it a shot – it’s free to play! The gameplay is better than ever, and we’d be thrilled to hear what you think. It was a real labor of love from a dedicated team.

Although people often overemphasize player numbers and Steam statistics, Arena Reloaded hasn’t gained any traction on any platform since its release. This makes you question whether Splitgate will ever truly succeed.

Taking their new game offline just a month after launch and then staying silent for six months was a big gamble, and so far, it doesn’t seem to be working out. Many believe 1047 Games would have been better off focusing on improving the original game instead of creating a sequel, and I think they’re right.

Splitgate: Arena Reloaded represents a new direction for the series, and it remains to be seen if it can regain its previous player base. The good news is it’s free to play, so anyone interested can give it a try!

Do you believe Splitgate: Arena Reloaded can bounce back and build a strong player base? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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2026-01-07 01:10