Evaluating only 1047 Games’s profile at its peak — without knowing the outcome — the model ranked Unit economics as the #1 likely cause. Documented cause: No market fit.
Key Events Timeline
FOUNDING
Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian founded 1047 Games as a two-person studio to build Splitgate.
PRODUCT LAUNCH
Splitgate beta went viral, reaching 600K concurrent players and crashing servers; studio raised $10M emergency round.
FUNDING
Raised $100M Series B at $1.5B valuation to fund Splitgate 2 development, tripling headcount.
LAYOFF
Cut 40% of workforce as Splitgate 2 missed milestones and investor appetite for gaming studios collapsed post-2023.
Full Analysis
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Documented cause
1047 Games raised $100M in 2022 at a $1.5B valuation for Splitgate, a portal-shooter that peaked at 600K concurrent players in July 2021. After shutting down Splitgate servers in November 2023, the studio pivoted to Splitgate 2. By mid-2024, layoffs hit 40% of staff as the sequel struggled to attract publisher backing and player interest ahead of launch.
Lesson
“A viral moment is not a business model; diversify revenue before betting on a sequel.”