Splitgate 2 CEO Announces Major Prerelease Plan to “Overcorrect” Meta

1047 Games, the developer of Splitgate, is bringing back the game with a sequel and has a distinct approach to maintaining balance and making meta changes before the release by overcorrecting.

When questioned about the developers’ perspective on balance adjustments from pre-release to after launch, Proulx explained that the team has chosen to prioritize overcorrection during the current phases of development.

“Our current strategy is to implement significant modifications. I strongly believe in the importance of design, whether it involves balance, UI, or any other aspect. It is always better to make an exaggerated adjustment and then adjust accordingly, as it is easier to find a middle ground than to make small changes.”

Upon the official launch of Splitgate 2, Proulx explains that the developer will adopt a different approach to making meta adjustments.

“After the launch, implementing those types of changes becomes much riskier. It is only then that we can make small, incremental adjustments, such as increasing the strength of a gun by 10%.”

The developer of Splitgate expressed that the addition of more playtesters has been extremely beneficial in determining what is successful and what is not.

“Splitgate 1 consisted of 15 to 20 people. However, we have now grown to a team of 175 for Splitgate 2. Out of these 175 individuals, only 20 were involved in the development of Splitgate 1 while the majority of 155 joined our team without prior experience in working on or playing Splitgate. This diverse group of individuals comes from various backgrounds, countries, and skill levels, resulting in a significant increase in new users.”

According to Proulx, the developers do not worry excessively about balance changes drastically altering or defining the meta. This is largely due to the way the gameplay is designed.

Regardless of one’s actions, everyone has the same health, time to kill, and movement. Therefore, a significant factor in winning a gunfight, approximately 80-90%, is determined by factors such as aim, portals, positioning, and movement rather than the ability to activate one’s ability at the perfect moment.

Splitgate 2 overhead view of arena — 1047 Games

Proulx elaborated on the topic of teamwork, stating that the faction aspect provides a more balanced gameplay experience.

“In addition to our individual perks, we have also implemented team perks for each faction. This means that if I have a member of a certain faction on my team, we will receive a slight bonus.”

The standard strategy for players will be to have a diverse team composition, with at least one of each faction. However, players can still choose to focus on a specific team composition each round and prioritize bonuses from a single faction. The most effective meta will involve obtaining bonuses from multiple factions.

Splitgate 2 is scheduled to be released in 2025. Fans were recently given the opportunity to register for a Closed Alpha playtest, which will take place from August 21 to August 25.