Splitgate’s Getting Bigger And Better, Thanks To A Cool $136 Million

Developer 1047 Games has raised $US100 ($136) million from a bunch of venture capital investors, the studio announced via press release today. The eye-popping fundraising haul will allow the outfit to remain independent and beef up work on its enormously popular free-to-play arena shooter, Splitgate.

Though the game first popped up in 2019, Splitgate — billed as a mix between Halo and Portal — has seen a massive surge in popularity this summer. And it’s still only in open beta.

Earlier this summer, 1047 shelved Splitgate’s planned July release because the game was so dang popular, all in an effort to shore up server capacity before launch. Shortly after the beta launched on consoles, it was nearly impossible to get into a match, with queue times north of an hour. Across all platforms, the game boasted six-figure concurrent player counts. As of August 18, Splitgate has been downloaded 10 million times.

The popularity makes total sense, seeing as Splitgate absolutely rules. Fundamentally, it feels like Halo 3, right down to some of the guns (the battle rifle!) and modes (oddball!). Portal-style portals mix things up. Players can deploy them on many surfaces, adding a layer of mind-boggling dimensionality that constantly keeps you on your toes. Amid a landscape beset by battle royales, it’s refreshing as hell to play an older-style arena shooter that marries concepts from two of the most popular games of all time.

In a statement accompanying today’s news, 1047 Games said the windfall will allow the company to bring on more staff. That, in turn, will help 1047 roll out more updates for Splitgate. They’ll be able to squash bugs faster. They’ll be able to increase the player count, though to what exactly that figure will be remains unclear. (Fingers crossed for Big Team Battle!) They also say they can bring the game to more platforms beyond PC, PlayStation, and Xbox. And, crucially, the funding adds fuel to the studio’s ambitions.

“The focus on the coming months will be on growing to become the next big AAA studio, while staying true to our roots as an indie team that prioritises our community,” the studio wrote in a statement. “When Splitgate comes out of BETA [emphasis theirs] and launches 1.0, it will be a truly historic launch.”