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Playing Splitgate 2 is like having a gunfight with Rick Sanchez. No sooner than you get a lock on your enemy’s position, they step through a portal. Then they appear behind you and pull the trigger themselves. After hours of hands-on time with the upcoming FPS, I’m more hyped than ever for what the chefs at 1047 Games have been cooking up. A heady mix of Halo Infinite‘s team-based gunplay and the portal-shooting action of Portal itself? Splitgate 2 executes that premise with the efficiency of a government assassin. Here’s why I’m looking forward to this free-to-play shooter when it drops later in 2025.
Splitgate 2 Does PvP Right
If you’re a CoD god or a legend of Apex, you’ll have plenty of room to flex your skills in Splitgate 2. If you’re a casual Fortnite enjoyer or a total FPS newbie, however, you’ll still have fun. Movement, gunplay, and special abilities all feel good, and the many modes offer a bit of something for everyone. Portals put a new spin on FPS classics like Capture-the-Flag, King of the Hill, and Team Deathmatch. Opening up cross-map shortcuts (or taking advantage of those left by your enemies) adds a layer of strategy like nothing else. Even clumsy uses of portals can be helpful (and hilarious).
Splitgate 2 is more ambitious than its predecessor in a few ways. One is player count. Multi-team modes toss you and 23 other players into a riot of bullets, portals, and explosions. With so many teams at war, even the new, larger maps feel busy and engaging. Plowing into the fray with a shotgun and shield? Camping a distant control point with a sniper rifle? Ambushing portal pursuers with the machine gun that just airdropped in? Only the silliness rivals the carnage here. As a Quake and Unreal Tournament fan, I couldn’t ask for much more, and I’m thrilled by the creativity on display.
Opening a Portal to Fun
The first Splitgate established what a portal-based shooter needs to be fun. With the sequel, 1047 Games has been freed to explore some grander iterations of that idea. It’s looking like the sequel will feature the most ambitious maps yet, but the weapons and classes are shaping up just as nicely. A mid-length TTK and plentiful ambush options mean fast gunfights, and every gun plays an interesting role. Even when a meta inevitably develops, players who want to experiment with wild class and weapon combos should be able to without tanking their K/D. Every portal is a possibility, rewarding the creative.
Even in Alpha, Splitgate 2 looks and feels great. After playing the game for several hours, I still didn’t experience any glitches either. Its approach to sci-fi is grounded but never colorless or boring, and both the graphics and sound design pull their weight. It’s the kind of game that could equally support pro tournaments and drunken LAN parties, letting everyone experience the portal-jaunting magic. 8v8v8 on a map 20 times the size of the old Splitgate record? Hand me a portal gun and call me Sanchez. Splitgate 2 will be warping onto PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox X/S, and PC at some point in 2025.
