Splitgate 2 developer 1047 Games has confirmed an undisclosed number of layoffs, with the co-founders of the studio opting not to take salaries as they bid to turn things around.

The free-to-play ‘Halo with portals’ shooter launched under a cloud after co-founder and director Ian Proulx took to the Summer Game Fest stage wearing a hat that read ‘Make FPS Great Again.’ During his speech, Proulx called out Call of Duty in what was considered a marketing gaffe.

When Splitgate 2 launched, it did so with a battle royale mode and a heavily criticized $145 microtransaction bundle. Splitgate 2 saw a peak concurrent player count of 25,785 on Steam, well below Splitgate’s 67,724 peak concurrent player count. Steam user reviews remain on ‘mixed.’

Steam stats do not paint the whole picture, of course, given Splitgate 2 launched across consoles as well as PC. Indeed, 1047 Games has said Splitgate 2 has had over 2.5 million players. But clearly, things have not gone as well as the studio had hoped. In an interview with IGN shortly after launch, Proulx said he was “surprised” by the reaction, admitting “we didn’t expect this to be nearly as controversial as it was and we didn’t intend for it to be.”

Now, 1047 Games has suffered a round of layoffs, which it characterized as “a small group” of staff in a post on LinkedIn. Also in the post came confirmation that co-founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian have opted not to take salaries, as the studio aims to improve the game.

Here’s the statement in full:

Today we parted ways with a small group of valued 1047 Games team members. We’re still perfecting the Splitgate 2 gameplay experience in response to community feedback, and we are redirecting resources to build the best game for our players. We are sad to see our teammates go, and we are actively working to help them secure new opportunities. Further, our co-founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian have opted not to take salaries as we lock in to deliver the next phase of the project. Thank you to those who’ve built alongside us — we are sad to say goodbye and would not be here without you.

To everyone who’s playing Splitgate 2, we’re continuing to work hard to deliver more things we know you’ll love. We are committed to building this game for the long haul.

While 1047 did not specify how many were let go, or who exactly, a number of key staff have announced their departures across social media platforms. Meanwhile, Splitgate 2 had a 24-hour peak concurrent player count of 10,059 on Steam, with 4,437 players on Valve’s platform at the time of this article’s publication.

Splitgate 2 secured a 7/10 in IGN’s review. We said: “Splitgate 2 is a decent successor to the original that expands on it, but never really surpasses it.”

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Grow a Garden has released its Summer update 1.11.0, propelling the Roblox game to comfortably the highest recorded concurrent player count in video game history. The patch notes are below.

The microtransaction-fueled free-to-play farming simulator had already shot past Fortnite’s concurrent peak of 15.3 million players, achieved during the Marvel-themed season finally back during Covid-era 2020, with an incredible 16.4 million concurrent players. At the time of this article’s publication, with players logging in for the Summer update, Grow a Garden was at an astonishing 21.3 million concurrents.

IGN Store has partnered with Bethesda Softworks and world-renowned artist Dave Rapoza to create Hellwalkers – the latest piece in IGN’s exclusive museum-quality IGN Artist Series.

Available only on IGN Store, Hellwalkers – IGN Artist Series 004 vividly captures the menace and power of the legendary Doomslayer, as made possible by the equally legendary artist Dave Repoza, a lifelong Doom fan himself.

IGN Store has 400 premium weight art prints ($70) and 100 premium acrylic art prints ($275) – both measuring a bold 18 x 24 inches. These pieces are brutal, iconic, and highly-collectible.

Each print is individually numbered and signed by Dave Rapoza and the acrylic print is truly fine art, backed on gator board and featuring a Certificate of Authenticity (laser-etched on the Doomslayer’s Shield Saw).

Id software has proven for more than 30 years that Doom truly is eternal. Since its world-shaping debut in 1993 to the epic, weighty, powerful play style of The Dark Ages, the Doom franchise’s Doomslayer has stood at the forefront of gaming as an immortal icon. This IGN Artist Series is a must-own for any serious Doom fan, and will not be reprinted once it is gone. The piece is destined to become a collector’s item, and is a perfect edition to any Doom fan’s wall.

Dave Rapoza is a self-taught artist who grew up in Carver, MA. For nearly 20 years his stunning artwork has been turning heads. Rapoza’s artwork has graced Marvel Comics covers, Magic: the Gathering, Paizo Publishing projects and a huge range of others. He has also contributed art to Diablo IV, League of Legends and the Witcher 3, among many other games.

“My first experience with Doom was playing the original in my neighbor’s kitchen on their ancient computer—it made a big impression on me, especially the music and definitely helped spark my love for games,” Repoza said. “Whenever I take on something like this, I try to tap into what made me a fan in the first place and boil that down into a single image. It’s a fun challenge, and I’m proud of how this one turned out. Hope you enjoy it!

The IGN Artist Series is IGN’s love letter to the pop culture icons we all love to watch, play, and discuss. Available for under a day, IGN Artist Series 001, 002, and 003 was produced in partnership with Bethesda and Amazon Prime Video and featured Fallout’s The Ghoul, Maximus, and Lucy MacLean, from artist Kevin Tong.