Why Splitgate 2’s ‘Fun First’ Design Pillar Could Revolutionize Portal Shooters and Player Retention Strategies
The ‘Fun First’ Mandate: More Than Just a Slogan
In a revealing discussion with Dexerto, Ian Proulx, the CEO and creator behind the Splitgate franchise, laid out the uncompromising core philosophy for the upcoming sequel. For Splitgate 2, every design decision filters through a single, powerful lens: fun first.
This isn’t a vague marketing tagline but a actionable design pillar enforced across the entire development team at 1047 Games. Proulx emphasized that this directive actively guides the art team to craft environments that are engaging and playful, not merely visually stunning. Similarly, it instructs level designers to prioritize layouts that generate exciting, dynamic encounters over those that are purely balanced for high-level competitive play.
This principle creates a clear hierarchy for development priorities. When questioned about Splitgate 2’s potential in the esports arena, Proulx was candid. While acknowledging the game’s inherent suitability for competition—thanks to its portal mechanics and high skill ceiling—he stated that becoming a top-tier esport is not the current focus. The primary goal is to build a fundamentally enjoyable game; competitive success is viewed as a potential byproduct of that foundation, not the primary objective.
This represents a significant and deliberate shift from industry trends where games are often designed from the ground up with esports and streaming in mind. The ‘fun first’ approach suggests that player enjoyment and retention are being valued over immediate competitive prestige, a strategy that could pay dividends in long-term community health.
Learning from Splitgate 1: Diagnosing the Retention Problem
The ‘fun first’ pillar for Splitgate 2 is a direct response to the lifecycle of the original game. Proulx analyzed the player data and identified a clear pattern: newcomers were instantly captivated by the novel portal-shooter gameplay, leading to strong initial engagement. However, this enthusiasm typically plateaued and then declined after a critical period of three to four weeks.
The diagnosis, according to Proulx, was that players felt they had “experienced everything there is to experience” without seeing meaningful evolution in the game world. The core loop, while fun, eventually felt static. This content exhaustion is a common pitfall for live-service games that fail to establish a compelling long-term progression or refresh cycle.
A key constraint exacerbating this issue was the studio’s size during the first game’s peak. With a team of only 15-20 developers, 1047 Games struggled to produce new content, features, and balance updates at a pace that could match player consumption. This resource limitation created a gap between player desire for novelty and the studio’s ability to deliver, ultimately impacting retention.
Common Mistake to Avoid: Players often burn through all available content in a new live-service game as quickly as possible. A better strategy is to pace yourself, engage with different modes, and set personal mastery goals beyond simple completion to extend enjoyment and avoid the feeling of having “seen it all.”
Splitgate 2’s Development Advantage: Scaling for Sustained Fun
The sequel’s development landscape is fundamentally different. 1047 Games has expanded its team to approximately 175 developers, a nearly tenfold increase from the original game’s core team. This scale is critical for translating the ‘fun first’ philosophy into a sustainable live-service reality.
A larger team enables parallel development tracks. While one group polishes the core launch experience, others can be dedicated to creating post-launch content, seasonal events, new maps, and gameplay modifiers. This structure aims to ensure that the “game hasn’t changed” critique from Splitgate 1 cannot be leveled at the sequel. The goal is to establish a consistent and exciting update cadence that continually reintroduces fun, new variables into the player’s experience.
This expanded capacity also supports a more robust pre-launch testing phase. Following an initial Closed Alpha, 1047 Games plans to host further playtests. These sessions are invaluable for stress-testing the ‘fun’ quotient of new mechanics and maps with real players, allowing for iterative refinement based on community feedback before the full-scale launch.
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Practical Implications for Players and the Genre
For players, the ‘fun first’ approach should manifest in tangible ways. Expect map design that encourages creative portal use and unpredictable encounters over symmetrical, sterile arenas. Gameplay mechanics and weapon balancing will likely favor dramatic, satisfying moments that may occasionally bend strict competitive fairness in service of enjoyment.
The promised increase in development resources suggests that post-launch support for Splitgate 2 will be more aggressive. Players can reasonably anticipate a roadmap featuring regular content drops, themed events, and community-driven features. This addresses a major pain point from the first game and sets a new expectation for the franchise.
Optimization Tip for Advanced Players: In a ‘fun first’ environment, meta strategies will evolve differently. Instead of just mastering the most statistically powerful tactics, also experiment with unconventional portal placements and weapon combinations that create highlight-reel moments. Often, the most enjoyable and surprising strategies can become powerful once mastered, as they are less predictable to opponents.
Splitgate 2 is scheduled for a multi-platform release in 2025 on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox. The journey from the lessons of the past to this ambitious sequel represents a case study in listening to player data and realigning development culture around a core, player-centric value.
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