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Subscribe to the world's #1 PC gaming mag Try a single issue or save on a subscription Issues delivered straight to your door or device From£35.99View PC Gaming Show Summer Game Fest TES4: Oblivion Elden Ring: Nightreign Recommended reading Splitgate 2's official launch is just days away as devs tease 'a massive surprise' which will be unveiled at Summer Game Fest Splitgate 2 open beta test kicks off in May with a 'massive amount of new content' Battle Royale Live service games are 'innovating' all the way back around to what worked 20 years ago, except way worse 'We're gonna do right by you': Splitgate 2 CEO apologizes for server meltdown after the open beta goes live Gaming Industry Battle royale interest is shrinking but Fortnite has a larger slice of the pie than ever, according to new industry report The latest big game on Steam is Fragpunk, or as I like to call it, 'kitchen-sink Counter-Strike' The Finals new season is here, toting permanent team deathmatch and a giant minigun Splitgate 2 'I grew up playing Halo, I'm tired of playing the same Call of Duty every year, and I wish we could have Titanfall 3!': Splitgate 2 boss slams the state of shooters as he surprise launches a battle royale mode Morgan Park 6 June 2025 Splitgate 2's battle royale mode is live now. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Splitgate: Battle Royale Official Launch Trailer - YouTube 1047 Games CEO Ian Proulx took the stage at Summer Game Fest today to reveal a surprise for Splitgate 2 that players have been accurately guessing for a week now: Yes, Splitgate 2 has a battle royale mode, and it's out now. Sporting a questionable "MAKE FPS GREAT AGAIN" hat, Proulx lamented the current state of online shooters before he introduced the trailer for Splitgate 2 battle royale. "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," he said. "With Splitgate 2, we asked ourselves how we can take portals to the next level. Related articles Splitgate 2's official launch is just days away as devs tease 'a massive surprise' which will be unveiled at Summer Game Fest Splitgate 2 open beta test kicks off in May with a 'massive amount of new content' Live service games are 'innovating' all the way back around to what worked 20 years ago, except way worse "What if you could portal to entirely different worlds? So we combined the action, movement, and gunplay of arena shooters with the scale and intensity of something much bigger. Splitgate Battle Royale launches free right now, and it's fucking awesome." (Image credit: Summer Game Fest) It's true that Splitgate 2 nods to an older era of FPS with its mode variety, simplistic guns, and presence of Halo-like power weapons—though a battle royale mode is the sort of trendy addition to a modern FPS that seemingly contradicts Proulx's longing for the social FPS bliss of the early '00s. That and the hat had me wincing at the whole thing. But I'm not wincing at Splitgate 2, which officially "launches" now after entering open beta a few weeks ago. It's pretty good, but its round-based modes are decidedly less casual (and fun) than the classics it draws inspiration from. There's an awkwardness to the way 1047 is pulling Splitgate 2 in every direction at once: It's Halo, it's Call of Duty, and now it's also Apex Legends. But of course, I gotta see what battle royale is like with portals. The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Morgan Park Social Links Navigation Staff Writer Morgan has been writing for PC Gamer since 2018, first as a freelancer and currently as a staff writer. He has also appeared on Polygon, Kotaku, Fanbyte, and PCGamesN. Before freelancing, he spent most of high school and all of college writing at small gaming sites that didn't pay him. He's very happy to have a real job now. Morgan is a beat writer following the latest and greatest shooters and the communities that play them. He also writes general news, reviews, features, the occasional guide, and bad jokes in Slack. Twist his arm, and he'll even write about a boring strategy game. Please don't, though. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. Splitgate 2's official launch is just days away as devs tease 'a massive surprise' which will be unveiled at Summer Game Fest Splitgate 2 open beta test kicks off in May with a 'massive amount of new content' Live service games are 'innovating' all the way back around to what worked 20 years ago, except way worse 'We're gonna do right by you': Splitgate 2 CEO apologizes for server meltdown after the open beta goes live Battle royale interest is shrinking but Fortnite has a larger slice of the pie than ever, according to new industry report The latest big game on Steam is Fragpunk, or as I like to call it, 'kitchen-sink Counter-Strike' Latest in FPS Atomic Heart 2 is coming and it looks like an open-world genre mashup of a bunch of other sci-fi dystopias The Borderlands cup overfloweth with a huge sale—1-3, The Pre-Sequel, all their DLCs, and one very good Telltale game are available for $36 XDefiant is now ex-Defiant as the game closes and its executive producer leaves Ubisoft: 'We just didn't have the gas to go the distance' Half-Life 2 becomes a loot-hoarding roguelike dungeon crawl in this Next Fest mod demo Borderlands 2 is free to keep on Steam and it's getting review-bombed at the same time because of, uh, the EULA? The secret stand-out of Sony's State of Play was the bizarre resurrection of Deus Ex's PS2 version Latest in News The Summer Game Fest just rolled out what is very likely the most disturbing videogame trailer I have ever seen Wildgate, the match-based Sea of Thieves in space from Mike Morhaime's new game company, launches this July The Jurassic World Evolution 3 trailer disappointingly doesn't show anyone being bitten in half by a T-Rex, but it does have Jeff Goldblum's dulcet tones and a release date Mads Mikkelsen is reprising his Casino Royale role to become Hitman's next elusive target Atomic Heart 2 is coming and it looks like an open-world genre mashup of a bunch of other sci-fi dystopias It's a real game—Lies of P: Overture, the Sekiro-like's first major DLC, shadowdrops during Summer Game Fest and is available now HARDWARE BUYING GUIDES LATEST GAME REVIEWS Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads Best graphics card for laptops in 2025: the mobile GPUs I'd want in my next gaming laptop Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most Best 14-inch gaming laptop in 2025: The top compact gaming laptops I've held in these hands Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I've tested Asus ROG Strix XG27UCG gaming monitor review Corsair Nautilus 360 RS review Cooler Master MasterLiquid 360 Core II review Corsair iCUE Link Titan 360 RX LCD review NZXT Kraken Elite 360 RGB (2024) review PC Gamer is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. 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