Splitgate 2 devs slash microtransaction prices and promise to refund the difference as the FPS looks to bounce back from 'Mixed' Steam reviews: "We hear you loud and clear"

It's been a rough weekend for developer studio 1047 and its latest release, Splitgate 2. The follow-up to the 2019 arena shooter that featured the innovative addition of portals throughout the map has seemingly gone out of its way to disappoint and enrage fans, and now 1047 is in rapid damage-control mode.

To catch you up, 1047 CEO, Ian Proulx, kicked things off with his controversial appearance at Summer Game Fest, where he said he made the FPS because "I grew up playing Halo, and I'm tired of playing the same Call of Duty every year, and I wish we could have Titanfall 3." That, and his new battle royale is "f***ing awesome."

It's a cool statement, and could have been one of the highlights of the show, as we also found out Splitgate 2 was launching then and there. But it wasn't. That's partly down to an unpopular hat he later doubled down on, but also because the game itself was stuffed with the kind of microtransactions that folk dislike from other FPS games.

Now, Proulx has taken to the Splitgate 2 Twitter account once more to set some things straight, with a four-minute video promising one major change to try and mend 1047's relationship with players: "We hear you loud and clear on the store prices, and so that nano swarm bundle, we're cutting the price in half. Some of the other items in the shop, we're reducing prices across the board." This also means that players who have already paid will receive partial refunds in the coming days.

The storefront prices for the free-to-play FPS were only one of the major qualms players had with the game, which has led to mixed reviews on Steam. The battle royale mode is something fans never expected, nor wanted. Players flocked to the original Splitgate because of its unique qualities amongst an oversaturated FPS genre, allowing players to enjoy an array of modes that decidedly did not include battle royale.

Players are loudly voicing their discontent with one negative review for Splitgate 2 on Steam stating, "Yeah, you can keep your Temu Apex."

While Proulx is clearly taking responsibility for the store prices and implementing active change, he continues to defend the new battle royale mode and tries to assure fans that it's not taking away from the other modes, claiming it's "additive, it's not here to replace anything."

Proulx attempts to frame Splitgate 2's battle royale mode as one that stands out amongst the crowd, stating, "I never wanted to make a battle royale unless I thought I could actually add and innovate the genre. And I think we've done that." Proulx claims Splitgate 2 is delivering more of a "battle royale-arena shooter hybrid," pointing out "you'll notice you respawn in it, you have power weapons."

The problem is, these features are not new or innovative; Fortnite, the foremost battle royale title out there, provides a reload mode, which allows for respawning, and has plenty of unique and powerful weapons to utilize.

All in all, it's a start. But it remains to be seen if everything can be fully remedied over the coming weeks and months.

Splitgate 2 dev snatches defeat from the jaws of victory, channeling Borderlands 4's Randy Pitchford by upsetting fans even when his FPS is looking pretty good