"Steam Charts Don't Measure Fun" - Splitgate Devs Respond After New Game Tanks

1047 Games responds to Splitgate: Arena Reloaded’s low Steam numbers, saying charts “don’t measure fun”, and points to community feedback and Arena Royale plans.

Splitgate: Arena Reloaded devs brush off Steam player counts

Splitgate: Arena Reloaded isn't pretending Steam numbers look great. But 1046 Games is also not accepting that a chart decides whether the game is worth your time. In a social post this week, the studio said Steam player counts are just "one number" on "one platform", and told people to actually play it before forming an opinion.

1047 Games says Steam player counts are a limited snapshot, not a "fun" rating
The studio claims a community is actively shaping Arena Reloaded, with "Arena Royale" name-dropped as upcoming content
Reports put the game at roughly 1000 peak concurrent players on Steam

What 1047 Games actually said about the low numbers

The studio’s message is basically: stop treating concurrency like a review score. It argues Steam charts don’t reflect what the game feels like, or the feedback loop with the community.

“Steam Charts don’t measure fun,” the statement opens.
It calls Steam data “one number, on one platform, at one given moment.”
It says the charts don’t capture the community helping shape the game’s direction.

That’s a fair point in the narrow sense: Steam charts are not a full player census, and they’re definitely not a vibes meter. But they are what players see, share, and argue about — especially when matchmaking health is the thing people worry about first.

The number everyone’s talking about (and what it does and doesn’t mean)

The coverage that triggered this response says Arena Reloaded is averaging a peak concurrent player count of around 1,000 on Steam.

This is Steam-only, not consoles.
It’s a peak snapshot, not total downloads, not total accounts, not total playtime.
It does, however, hint the relaunch hasn’t pulled in a massive PC crowd like the original game once did.

If you’re in the UAE, the practical bit is simple: lower concurrency can mean longer queues at off-peak hours (and more repeat matchups). That’s not guaranteed, but it’s usually where the “dead game” panic comes from.

“We rebuilt Splitgate from the ground up” — and the pitch to try it

1047 Games says the last six months were spent rebuilding the game “from the ground up”, and that the team is still committed to delivering the best version possible.

The devs thank the community for feedback that’s made the game “better every day.”
They stress the game is free, and ask newcomers to “jump in and form your own opinion.”
They point to “Arena Royale” as upcoming content.

If you want the UAE-specific angle on whether it’s worth reinstalling, our earlier explainer is here: Splitgate: Arena Reloaded — should UAE gamers come back?

Context: Splitgate 2’s messy year and that stage moment

None of this is happening in a vacuum. The studio’s relaunch story is tied to two big things: the Splitgate 2 reset, and the marketing blowback.

Splitgate 2 launched in June 2025, then was announced as “unlaunching” the following month so it could be rebuilt.
The game’s launch period also included a controversy where CEO Ian Proulx wore a “Make FPS Great Again” hat on stage at Summer Game Fest.
The article notes he later apologised for the hat’s political connotations, referencing the same weekend Trump deployed National Guard members to Los Angeles (where the event is held).

So yeah, the studio is trying to steady the ship while also asking people to judge the game in their hands, not on a graph.