Splitgate Arena Reloaded Struggles to Find Players After Controversial Launch

Splitgate Arena Reloaded, the revamped version of the popular arena shooter, is having a challenging debut.

Launched on Steam and consoles on December 17, the game peaked with 2,297 concurrent players before stabilizing at around 1,000 in recent days. In comparison, the original Splitgate saw a peak of 67,724 players during its open beta.

Notably, this figure does not account for new console players; the game is available on both PlayStation and Xbox. According to a blog post by the developers, over 150,000 players tried out Splitgate Arena Reloaded within its first five days, boasting that, "retention is the best it's ever been."

The blog also promises a major marketing campaign this year, alongside a slew of new updates including a new map called Arena Royale and a new game mode known as One in the Chamber.

Splitgate Arena Reloaded emerged after a series of struggles with developer 1047 Games. Following the initial launch of the successful indie shooter, the studio halted support for that version to focus on a more ambitious sequel with faction abilities. However, this sequel did not perform as expected and was reverted to beta after player feedback.

During last year's Summer Game Fest, game director Ian Proulx faced backlash for wearing a MAGA-style hat, leading to public apologies. Last month saw the release of Splitgate Arena Reloaded, which aims to recapture the essence of the original's arena FPS experience.

To generate excitement, Splitgate Arena Reloaded is hosting competitive events, including a $5,000 tournament featuring popular content creators and a $25,000 community challenge. Additionally, a welcome back event allows players to earn the T200 character skin, a favored item from the original game.