| Splitgate 2 | |||
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| Release Date | Gameplay & Story | Pre-Order & DLC | Review |
Splitgate 2 is an action FPS game where you fight enemies with futuristic weapons and portals. Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn’t do well, and if it’s worth buying.
Splitgate 2 Review Overview
What is Splitgate 2?
Splitgate 2 is an online multiplayer action FPS by 1047 Games and the direct sequel to 2021’s Splitgate. Designed to put the original game’s Halo-adjacent vibes and gameplay front and center with its unique portal mechanics, Splitgate 2 pits players against each other across a variety of different game modes, including the newly added 4-person Battle Royale mode.
Splitgate 2 features:
⚫︎ Unique tactical portal mechanics
⚫︎ 7 unique game modes, including the new Battle Royale mode
⚫︎ 3 character classes with unique playstyles and abilities
⚫︎ Seasonal battle pass content and events
⚫︎ Hyper-mobile FPS gameplay
⚫︎ Competitive online multiplayer combat
For more gameplay details, read everything we know about Splitgate 2's gameplay and story.
 Steam |
 Epic |
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 PlayStation |
 Xbox |
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| Price | Free-to-Play | ||||
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Splitgate 2 Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 They Promised Portals, You Get Portals Great Aesthetics, Great Sound Easiest FPS to Pick Up Right Now |
Mediocre FPS Combat At Best More Battle Pass Slop Needs More Classes |
Splitgate 2 Overall Score - 66/100
Splitgate 2 is a mediocre game at best, and that’s a tough pill to swallow for something that promised a blend of Halo’s legendary multiplayer lobbies and portal mechanics. Simply put, it’s—at most—half of every game it tries to emulate, and nowhere near as engaging.
Mix in a boring battle royale mode, abysmal class and equipment variety, and some of the most uninspired monetization modern gaming has to offer, and you’re left with a title barely worth talking about—let alone remembering.
Splitgate 2 Story - 5/10
Splitgate 2 doesn’t have a set narrative to dig into, but that’s more acceptable with multiplayer FPS games than any other genre because the gameplay was always meant to take center stage. Still, an actual story goes a long way, and I’m willing to bet that the tiniest amount of additional narrative to go with its okay world-building could’ve made this game a lot less forgettable than it ended up being.
Splitgate 2 Gameplay - 6/10
There’s nothing wrong with Splitgate 2’s gameplay, and it is technically an innovation of the first game’s formula. It's playable, and you might even like it. I just think it’s half as fun as every game it’s trying to be. It’s not as tactical or memorable as Halo, nor does it make as great a use of the Battle Royale format as Fortnite. It’s just like every other FPS at the end of the day, just with a new portal mechanic thrown in, which isn’t bad per se, just don’t expect anyone to remember it.
Splitgate 2 Visuals - 8/10
For all its other pitfalls, Splitgate 2 at least excels in its visuals and art direction, combining futuristic technology with retro stylings and a vibrant color palette that differentiates it from every other multiplayer FPS on the market nowadays. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but you won’t confuse this game for anything else—visually, anyway.
Splitgate 2 Audio - 7/10
Although it lacks the necessary campaign mode or story cutscenes for traditional voice work to shine, Splitgate 2’s announcers bring an auditory momentum to each match, gracing players with important battlefield information while still carrying the illusion of being sports announcers. The music carries the vibes well, and the weapons’ sound effects give each gun the punch it needs to stand out. It’s not anything special, but competent work begets an appropriately decent score.
Splitgate 2 Value for Money - 7/10
Splitgate 2 is free, that much already gives it a lot of value. Factor in the fact that it's a multiplayer game as well, and you're likely to find some good matches with your friends before the games' boring meager offerings bores you out. Best case scenario, it doesn't, which is par for the course for every free-to-play FPS you see nowadays.
Splitgate 2 Review: Some Things, Even A Battle Royale Can’t Fix
You know, I’m the kind of person who believes in second chances. I think flaws are baked into the human condition, and by extension, everything we create. Don’t worry, I’m not about to spiral into some deep deconstruction of how our imperfections define us (tempting as that is). I’m just getting a little philosophical because, well, I’ve played Splitgate 2 before, and I walked away feeling... underwhelmed.
Granted, it was an open beta, so hiccups were expected and, honestly, forgivable. The worst I could say about it back then was that it was boring, and even that felt like a placeholder judgment. When I heard the full release was just a couple of weeks away, I figured Splitgate 2 was gearing up for a proper redemption arc.
I was wrong. Sure, it came back louder, flashier, with a shiny new battle royale mode thrown in for good measure, but beneath all that, it was the same snoozefest I played during the beta. Only now, it had fewer excuses for being the way it is. So, let’s portal in and take a closer look at what exactly went wrong with Splitgate 2.
Basically Halo, But With Portals
Let’s start with the basics. Splitgate 2 is a competitive FPS multiplayer game where your objective changes depending on the mode you're playing. Much like Call of Duty, Battlefield, or even The Finals, you might need to capture points, hold objectives, or simply rack up the most kills to win. These win conditions are scattered across the game’s many modes, the latest of which is its shiny 4-man new Battle Royale.
We’ll get to that mess later. For now, let’s focus on the one thing that actually sets this game apart: portals.
If you’ve played Portal or have even a vague understanding of sci-fi, you already know the deal. You throw one portal here, another there, and bam—they're connected through space, letting you teleport instantly from one to the other if you pass through. It's a great concept in general, but when dropped into the fast-paced chaos of an FPS, it's borderline genius.
Whether you’re opening surprise sightlines or warping your entire squad onto an objective, the tactical potential is huge. Portals can only be placed on certain surfaces, but the game’s pretty generous with those, and there’s virtually no cooldown. That means every class, regardless of its intended role, gets access to top-tier mobility.
Every match follows the same concept of fulfilling objectives, but there are also a few extra thing thrown in to keep things exciting, like the time-locked Power Weapons that give whoever picks them up a massive advantage by letting them wield the strongest weapons the game has to offer, as well as moving objectives, or completely new formats for some of the other modes.
Play enough, and you'll unlock new weapons, perks, weapon attachments, and throwables for your class by earning EXP through use. You can also fulfil daily and weekly quests to earn points for the battle pass and earn more cosmetics from there. It's pretty much standard FPS with the portals thrown in, and it's genuinely fun...for like the first few minutes. That's when the rerealization sets in that there isn't much more to this game after the first impression.
Slim Pickings for Everything
Yeah, this game doesn't offer much unlockable content, even if it just launched, and nowhere is that better shown than with the game's classes. They’re… a great idea, executed in the most boring way possible.
You’ve got three choices: Aero (mobility), Meridian (balanced), and Samarsk (defense). Each class comes with a unique ability and a passive team buff, and on paper, this sounds great. It definitely mixes up the basic concept of Halo with portals, but three classes? Three? That’s it?
Look, variety is the spice of life, and Splitgate 2 is seasoning its gameplay with plain toast. Three classes is a pitiful offering, especially in a genre where player expression and tactical depth matter. To be fair, The Finals launched with just three, but that game had enough going on elsewhere to make up for it. Here, it's just another sign of how little ambition went into key systems.
The game at least tries to offer variety through customizable loadouts, with each class able to equip up to five of them. In theory, this could open the door for creative builds and playstyles. In practice? The available equipment options are as thin as the class selection.
You’ve got five primary weapons. That’s it. Count 'em. Just five. Then you’ve got three secondary weapons, three throwables, and five perks per slot (two slots total). That’s… embarrassing. In today’s FPS landscape, where games either try to have a lot of equipment choices or a lot of characters, being unable to achieve either is just insulting.
Sure, you can slap a few attachments on your guns if you’re feeling adventurous, but don’t expect a dramatic shake-up. I honestly expected some of this to be locked behind microtransactions, but thankfully, that’s limited to cosmetics—because if the gameplay itself were paywalled in addition to this absolutely tiny selection, I’d just go play Call of Duty and lose my money to a bigger company.
Already, the full release feels like it’s stumbling out of the gate. And unfortunately, this isn’t the last time Splitgate 2 will leave you hoping for more—and walking away with less.
Half of Everything It Tries to Be
It might seem like Splitgate 2’s biggest issue is its dreadful lack of variety—but that’s just a symptom of a much deeper problem. The game’s real flaw? It’s only half as fun as any of the titles it’s trying to emulate. And no amount of portal trickery or tacked-on battle royale chaos is going to fix that.
Here’s what I mean: the mechanics aren’t just uninspired (which, let’s be honest, is expected in today’s oversaturated FPS market)—they’re weaker versions of the ones they’re mimicking. They’re not faithful copies; they’re hollow imitations. If Splitgate 2 had just ripped off its inspirations wholesale, it might’ve been better off.
Take Halo, the game’s most obvious muse. Halo lobbies were legendary. Entire communities formed around its multiplayer—a culture of epic firefights, iconic vehicles, meme-worthy moments, and unforgettable maps. It didn’t need portals because it had identity. It had dynamic movement, a huge and varied arsenal, and Spartans who felt like actual characters, not faceless space marines with portal guns taped to their backs.
Now look at Splitgate 2. It tries to blend hero-shooter and tactical shooter elements, but it ends up with the blandest possible version of both. Compare that to something like The Finals, which runs wild with its similarly-sized class system, gives players bizarre and creative gadgets just for the sake of fun, and throws in full-on environmental destruction to keep things fresh. Meanwhile, Splitgate 2 limps along with three classes and a weapons list that wouldn’t impress a back-alley gun collector.
And then there’s the big new feature: Battle Royale. Surely, this was meant to be the game’s headline attraction, right? A bold new mode to justify the full release?
Wrong. It’s just Fortnite stripped down to its dullest elements (sans building), with portals lazily stapled onto it. It adds nothing of substance. In fact, the game’s standard modes end up being better purely because the portals actually serve a purpose there. In Battle Royale, they’re an afterthought at best.
Worse still, the BR map is a lifeless wasteland—empty, dull, and somehow still manages to get you killed by enemies you never even saw coming. There’s no tension, no rhythm, no reward for skillful movement or clever plays. It feels unnecessary, like a last-minute attempt to ride the coattails of a trend that passed years ago.
If you’re looking for a proper Battle Royale experience, just go play Fortnite. At least that game remembers to have fun.
At Least It’s Easy and Free
Despite everything I’ve said so far, I do want to cut Splitgate 2 some slack. It’s free-to-play and, honestly, not bad—just not anything worth writing home about. For the price of free-ninety-nine, it lands somewhere between “decent” and “average,” which isn’t the worst place for a game to be. You really can’t ask for much more from a free title—unless you’re Marvel Rivals, apparently.
To its credit, Splitgate 2 is incredibly easy to pick up. It’s free, it’s multiplayer, and that means the whole crew can jump in without spending a dime. Better still, the gameplay loop is simple enough that anyone with even a vague idea of how a gun works can hop in and hold their own. If you’re not too bothered by the meager weapon pool or the paper-thin class variety, there’s a serviceable shooter here—one that might even keep you entertained for a few matches at a time.
More Battle Pass Slop, But At Least This One’s Forgettable
Alas, such is the bitter pill that comes with free-to-play games. Splitgate 2 comes equipped with a battle pass and seasonal content, but thankfully, what it’s shilling is about as forgettable as it gets—probably the easiest pass I’ve given since Mini Royale’s. It’s all cosmetic, which means the gameplay remains mercifully untouched by paywalls.
To the game's credit, it seems pretty generous with the freebies, regularly tossing out rewards and hosting events, so as far as battle passes go, this one’s fairly harmless. I just hope it stays that way and doesn’t go chasing whales when most people inevitably shrug it off.
Really Not Much to This Game, But It’s Not Awful
Here we are at the other end of the portal—one man’s opinion wiser and no more invested in what Splitgate 2 has to offer than when we started. Metaphors aside, the game really isn’t terrible. It runs smoothly, has a genuinely cool core mechanic, and even cleaned up the server and matchmaking issues from its beta days. But unfortunately, that’s just the bare minimum for a modern FPS, and everything it tries to do beyond that isn’t worth more than a passing glance.
Low class and equipment variety, uninspired game modes, and yet another serving of battle pass slop that execs think players adore—all of it comes together into a nothing-burger of an FPS. Honestly, you’re better off just watching someone else play. I let it pass during the beta with hopes that the full release would fix them. It was not to be.
Clearly, some things not even a battle royale can fix. Clearly, some things a battle royale only makes worse. Splitgate 2 is a commendable effort—one you might try once or twice, maybe even enjoy in short bursts. But remember it? No. I think I’d rather forget this one. Not that it’ll be hard.
Is Splitgate 2 Worth It?
I Mean…It’s Free, So You Don’t Lose Much For Trying
It’s hard to call a game “not worth it” when “it” refers to the zero dollars and zero cents you spent to play. It costs nothing but time to try, and for that alone, it earns a bit more credit than it probably deserves.
Make no mistake, though—if its monetization ever shifts, whether by putting a price tag on the game or locking core features behind a paywall, its value tanks hard into sub-5 territory. But for now, while it's still generous with its gameplay and holds a faint promise of improvement, I don't think you'll regret giving it a shot. At worst, it'll leave no lasting impression—and maybe that's okay.
| Digital Storefronts | |||||||||||
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| Steam |
Epic |
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| PlayStation |
Xbox |
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| Price | Free-to-Play | ||||||||||
Splitgate 2 FAQ
Is Splitgate 2 Steam Deck Verified?
Not yet. According to the game’s official FAQ, the game should be playable on Steam Deck, but the game’s developers have to work out some issues with the platform before the game is fully verified.
Will Splitgate 2 Support Controller Inputs?
Yes. 1047 Games’ current plans for Splitgate 2’s controller inputs are that there won’t be controller-specific matchmaking in the future for the sake of simplicity.
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Splitgate 2 Product Information
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| Title | Splitgate 2 |
|---|---|
| Release Date | June 6, 2025 |
| Developer | 1047 Games |
| Publisher | 1047 Games |
| Supported Platforms | PC (Steam, Epic Games) PlayStation 5 Xbox Series X|S |
| Genre | Action, Shooter, Multiplayer |
| Number of Players | 1-4 (Online Multiplayer) |
| ESRB Rating | ESRB T (Teen) |
| Official Website | Splitgate 2 Website |
