‘Splitgate 2’ CEO Won’t Apologize For ‘Make FPS Great Again’ Hat

It’s been a wild Summer Game Fest so far, and one of the most talked-about moments of Friday’s showcase was the appearance of Splitgate 2, and its developer’s CEO, Ian Proulx.

Splitgate 2’’s Proulx took the stage in a black hat that said “Make FPS Great Again,” a riff on the famed Trump MAGA hat. He then proceeded to trash-talk some of the other competitors in the space:

“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,” Proulx said. “With Splitgate 2, we asked ourselves how we can take portals to the next level.

The reveal was that Splitgate 2 would get a battle royale mode, launching now, which was mocked for claiming to be “innovative” with that genre and also having a COD-like expensive microtransaction shop. Though many have played the game an enjoyed it.

Shortly after the show, Ian Proulx used the official Splitgate 2 account to address the hat issue specifically, albeit saying specifically it wasn’t an apology. The tweet:

“I’m not here to apologize but I am here to clarify. This is not a political statement, it is quite literally what it says, so take it at face value.”

“The state of multiplayer FPS games is tragically stale. We hope to fix that, whether you want Arena, Battle Royale, Onslaught, or Map Creator.”

I am in fact prone to believe that Proulx was attempting to make a joke rather than actually expressing support for Trump and MAGA, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t an awful idea that never should have happened. Nor was the tweet with a picture of him in the hat giving a thumbs up alongside the non-apology.

Proulx doubles down on the idea that FPS games are now “tragically stale,” and you can agree with that or not, but many do consider it poor form to go directly after rivals. I can’t say I care all that much about that, but multiple factors here combined to make an awkward, goodwill-sapping reveal of what could have been a non-distracting promotion of a new mode.

The announcement increased Splitgate 2’s playercount. It went from an average peak of 9-11K concurrent players on Steam to 25,785 after the reveal. The question, of course, is how long that surge may last, and none of this seems exactly like it’s about to shake up the hierarchy of power in the FPS universe.