In this interview, Luke Lohr (Insipid Ghost) sits down with Ian Proulx, CEO and co-founder of 1047 Games, to talk Splitgate’s turbulent stretch, what the team learned, and how the relaunch as Splitgate: Arena Reloaded is meant to get the game back on track. We discuss the Summer Game Fest controversy, how it changed the conversation around Splitgate, and what lessons Ian took away from that moment — before moving into the gameplay, systems, and philosophy behind Splitgate: Arena Reloaded. Topics include:
- The Summer Game Fest moment and how it reshaped the conversation around Splitgate
- Lessons learned from that period and what Ian would do differently
- Why building a sequel is different than building a new IP
- Where Splitgate 2 missed player expectations (classes, abilities, loadouts)
- The decision to pull the game back and reset
- Why Arena Reloaded refocused on gunplay, movement, and portals
- “Battle Royale” vs “Arena Royale” and what that mode is meant to be
- Multi-queue playlist selection and ranked progression
- Retention as the key metric: quit rate vs requeue rate
- Portal balance and accessibility (Portal Overloading, EMP grenades, Portal Trails)
- Optional playlists for new and veteran players
- Progression, mastery camos, and player incentives
- Monetization philosophy and rebuilding trust
- Performance, readability, and the 2026 quality bar
Good interview from Luke. They get back to the controvery around Splitgate 2 and the Make FPS Great Again hat, the launch and the changes they had to make.