Splitgate was one of the most surprising games of 2021 thanks to its free-to-play open beta that surged in popularity when brought to consoles. While it enjoyed a successful summer, with concurrent player counts well into the hundreds of thousands, many worried that by the end of the year it would suffer at the hands of the series that influenced it: Halo.
Halo Infinite’s multiplayer has been incredibly popular, but one person that was not at all concerned about the prospect of Splitgate being pushed aside is Ian Proulx, the CEO of 1047 Games. Speaking to The Loadout, Proulx – a lifelong fan of arena shooters, with Halo 2 being a personal favourite – says that he was “never worried” about Halo’s impact on Splitgate, and thinks that in the current first-person shooter market, the two games can actually work together to revitalise their shared genre.
“I’m actually glad [Halo Infinite] is out,” he says. “I honestly think that, in the long run, Halo Infinite and Splitgate will help each other. I think that there’s just so much noise and so many battle royales right now, and [these two games] are bringing people over to the arena shooter genre. You know, there’s a lot of kids who have never played Halo, right? There’s a lot of kids who have never played Quake or Unreal Tournament. They’ve never played this kind of game. And getting them exposure to that I think is just a good thing for the genre as a whole.”
It seems that Proulx’s theory may have legs too. He reveals that since Xbox-exclusive Halo Infinite launched, Splitgate’s player count on PlayStation consoles has grown.
While Splitgate’s overall player count is currently some way off the dizzying heights of the summer, Proulx hopes to reclaim some of that ground in 2022 as 1047 – which earlier this year raised $100 million in a funding round – looks to improve the game and potentially take it from a beta to a fully launched title.
There will be more insight into the future of Splitgate, as well as reflections on the significant year it has just had, in The Loadout’s extended interview with Proulx, which will go live on Sunday, December 26.