‘Sporty and positive’: Splitgate 2’s developer isn’t going to take lore too seriously

Unlike the original Splitgate, which featured a mishmash of different art styles, the sequel aims to be much more cohesive with its theme. The “sporty and positive” futuristic setting will be the unifying theme of Splitgate 2, but that doesn’t mean developer 1047 is planning to take the game’s lore too seriously.

In an interview with PCGamesN, published Sept. 3, 1047 Games co-founder Ian Proulx laid out the studio’s goals with the upcoming first-person shooter and lessons the team learned from the 2019 original. “The lore dictates everything in [Splitgate 2],” he said. “In Splitgate, there was no lore. It was just kind of like: ‘Let’s go make a cool game.’ Then you end up with an art style that doesn’t really [work], it’s not cohesive.”

Proulx shared how the studio took a lesson out of that and is now shaping the sequel to be a more unified experience. He also shared how the initial idea for Splitgate 2 came into being: The only thread joining the dots was his plan for the game to be a “positive future and a sporty future.”

The “positive, sporty” futuristic setting is very much oozing from the announcement trailer, and the following gameplay reveal. But as Proulx puts it, 1047 Games is focused on crafting a fun experience more than anything. “You know, we don’t take ourselves too seriously. We’re not trying to save humanity. We’re just trying to have a good time,” he told the publication.

A bright futuristic aesthetic isn’t a novelty in the FPS genre though. We saw a very similar setting in The Finals earlier this year. According to Proulx, however, what gives Splitgate 2 a unique identity compared to Embark’s breakthrough shooter is its adherence to more sporty themes, rather than The Finals’ game show setting.

While there were some initial gripes about 1047 pursuing a more cohesive approach with the sequel, hopefully, the developer’s goal of prioritizing fun gameplay will satiate the original’s player base.

Splitgate 2‘s release date hasn’t been announced, but we know it’s coming out sometime in 2025.