After a rocky start Splitgate 2 is back, and it looks more like the game I loved

Splitgate 2 has had a wild ride so far. Having launched "too early," 1047 Games' portal-popping shooter sequel failed to strike a chord with series veterans, and struggled to entice new players into giving it a try. Its restrictive faction system, lack of portalling spots on certain maps, and overpowered abilities like Hypersight (effectively wall hacks) were unwelcome shifts away from what made the original Splitgate so good. The good news is that, as Splitgate 2 returns to public playtesting this weekend, 1047 has heard the feedback loud and clear, making sweeping changes that should bring us closer to the feel of its original cult hit.

Just two months after launching in early June, Splitgate 2 was given the hook. It was barely maintaining a couple of thousand players concurrently on Steam; a far cry from the numbers needed to survive against the best FPS games. Now back in beta, 1047 is putting all of its eggs into its big-budget shooter, to the point that it's even pulled dedicated server support for the first Splitgate (this, fortunately, lives on thanks to peer-to-peer match hosting). Now, the studio is ready to let players have at it once more, and the freshly-announced changes make for a promising sign of what's to come.

While, traditionally, comparisons with Battlefield 2042 have trended negatively, Splitgate 2 is, for now at least, mirroring one of the best changes EA's revamped shooter made post-launch. As 2042 reworked its Specialists to more closely resemble the series' classic loadouts, Splitgate 2 is also doing away with the rigidity of its factions. During the playtest, you'll be able to "mix and match" your weapon and equipment loadouts as you please. Additionally, abilities have been temporarily nixed, placing the focus of skill expression squarely on Splitgate's foundational combat elements (portals and pew-pew). As much as I enjoyed the extra flavor these skills brought to the fore, certain abilities (hi, Hypersight) dominated the gameplay loop far too much for my liking.

In-keeping with the theme of going back to basics, 1047's added new portal walls to Academy, Core, Eden, Frontier, and Grit. The studio stresses these are not "massive visual overhauls," but will hopefully "improve flow, open up sightlines, and create more opportunities for portal creativity." Yes, this rebalancing ultimately means your billion hours in Apex Legends or Overwatch will be less-transferrable, but this is the differentiation Splitgate 2 needs if it's to carve out its niche.

One of my major frustrations with Splitgate 2 was the lack of consistency in its gunplay. Weapon personality is incredibly important, but the recoil bounciness of certain guns straight up sucked. Though it's not looking to turn its weaponry into laserbeams, 1047 is reducing recoil across the board, and has reworked automatic weapon recoil patterns to only trail upward. Now, there's a fighting chance of keeping them in check, and learning weapon behaviors actually has merit.

Elsewhere in the playtest announcement, we're getting a ~20% reduction in time-to-kill, which aims to remove the "first shot wins" issue that is a recurring point of frustration for many, not only in Splitgate 2, but across modern shooters. While this is, of course, a matter of taste, my old, washed-up ass is grateful for the opportunity to react against the whippersnappers with a trillion hours in Kovaak's.

Over in modes, 1047's getting back to its arena-based roots. The studio says it's "refocusing around fan-favorite modes like King of the Hill, Domination, and Team Deathmatch." It's crucial to get the bread-and-butter right before tackling more complex dishes, so expect to get plenty of playtime in with the classics. Round-based modes like Splitball will still be around, albeit not as prevalent - that is, unless you make use of the new playlist selection filter. Speaking of Splitball, the pacing has been toned down a notch as you'll no longer be able to portal while carrying the ball. You'll now have to rely on your teammates more, so play nice.

Though most of these changes are only in place for the playtest for now, it's a huge theoretical leap in the right direction for Splitgate 2. If everything lands as it should, match cadence will be dictated more by your portal proficiency and skill with its arsenal of weaponry - the two pillars that the original Splitgate's tight design excelled at pushing. So, when can you hop in?

The two, three-hour Splitgate 2 public playtests will take place on Friday August 29, 2025, from 3pm PST / 6pm EST / 11pm BST, and Saturday, August 30, 2025, from 10am PST / 1pm EST / 6pm BST. You can get involved by downloading the Splitgate 2 beta on Steam here.

There are a few extra steps you'll have to take to access the beta branch, which are as follows:

• Head to your Steam library and find the 'Splitgate 2 beta.'
• Right-click it and head into 'Properties.'
• Click the 'Betas' tab, and choose 'aug-playtest' from the opt-in dropdown.
• Close the window, and let Steam download the branch.

The branch won't be live until later today, so don't fret if you don't see it just yet.

With some time left before the playtest kicks off, jump into some more of the best free PC games and best multiplayer games that'll let you brush up your aim beforehand.

How are you feeling about the Splitgate 2 changes? Come and let us know over in our community Discord server.