Summary
You may remember theSplitgate 2announcement from Summer Game Fest – Some dude in a MAGA-style “Make FPS Great Again” cap moaned about first person shooters and went on to show the most generic looking battle royale game. 1047 Games' CEO, Ian Proulx thought the stunt would create waves, but all it has done isdivide his own fanbase and made the game a laughing stock.
Things got worse for Proulx when Splitgate 2 opened to Mixed reviews on Steam, with manyplayers complaining about the expensive microtransactions and underwhelming gameplay. Maybe it was this, or maybe it was a change of heart, but Proulx has finally decided to come out and apologise for his stunt at The Game awards.
Splitgate 2 Boss Apologises To Community
“At our biggest stage, coming out of beta, we needed something to grab attention, and the honest truth is, we tried to think of something and this is what we came up with,” said Proulx in a video on Twitter (thanks,PC Gamer). “We did not intend for this to be taken in any political way whatsoever. And I’m not an idiot—obviously I knew there would be some level of controversy.
“But we really saw this as a meme that was kind of stating our truth, which is, we do want to improve this genre—we are disappointed with the state of the genre. So we took it as a meme that we thought would not be nearly as negatively received as it was. And so I want to apologize, and genuinely, you don’t have to believe me, but the truth is, I am sorry.”
He went on to say that the main reason he apologised is because his actions divided the community. The MAGA-themed cap probably didn’t help with that.
“I hate seeing division,” Proulx continued. “And that’s what I’m seeing right now, on both sides. There’s division in the community, and for that I am truly sorry. I do stand by the intent of this, which is—the intent truly is, take it at face value, we do want to improve the genre. We do feel that the genre is in a bad state, and we want to make FPS games as amazing as possible. But I also understand that it’s not just about intent, it’s about impact. And the platform that we have had, has had a negative impact, and for that I’m truly sorry.”
