Splitgate 2 may be one of the best games you’ve never played, but hopefully, all of that will change as 1047 Games has released the next update, which will add a new competitive Ranked mode, weapon mastery skins, and more.

The 21 GB update is packed full of new content that will keep players busy for the foreseeable future and could be the first steps to building Splitgate 2 to be a long-term competitive Esports title.

Here are the full Splitgate 2 1.2 update patch notes.

Splitgate 1.2 Update Makes The Game More Competitive Than Ever

Ahead of the release of the 1.2 update, which is over 21 GB in size, Splitgate 2 devs 1047 Games took to Reddit to share the patch notes. In the patch notes, it was revealed that Ranked Arena would finally be coming to Splitgate 2, along with the addition of Weapon Mastery Skins, giving players a great reason to grind and explore the different weapons and tactics found in the game.

Check out the full patch notes below.

Highlights

• New Playlist: Ranked Arena
  • Unlocked by earning 100,00 XP in any other playlists
  • Rise up through the ranks, from Bronze up to Champion
  • Compete across 3 modes: Splitball, Hotzone, and Firecracker
  • Earn exclusive weapon Charms and badges based on the highest rank you achieve each season
  • Stay tuned for more info on additional Ranked modes and adjustments in future seasons
• New Unlocks: Weapon Mastery Skins
  • Prove your dedication by unlocking new, exclusive skins for every weapon
  • Fully level a weapon to unlock its Mastery Challenges
  • Complete a weapon’s first Mastery Challenge to unlock its Carbon skin
  • Complete a weapon’s second Mastery Challenge to unlock its Gold skin
  • Unlock 6 Gold weapon skins for a Faction to unlock the highest tier of Mastery Challenges which earn you Proelium skins
  • Even more Mastery Challenges and exclusive skins are in the works for future seasons
• New Battle Pass: Season 1 Chapter 2
• New Takedown Map: Simulation Anomaly

Battle Royale

• Added a “Last Man Standing” announcement which plays when you’re the only one alive on your team
• Added a new Point of Interest to Glacier
• Added invisible walls around the outer bounds of each biome to prevent flying out of bounds

Arena

• Added the ability to rejoin a match in progress after leaving or being disconnected
• Added and adjusted a number of portal walls on Bypass

Balance Changes

• (Aeros) Rush Ability
  • Now also grants immunity from debuffs, such as stuns or slows, while the ability is active
• (Meridian) Phasma SMG
  • Reduced the speed at which shots grow by 50%
  • Reduced the maximum size of shots by 20%
  • Dev Note: Because the Phasma is not a hitscan weapon, its projectiles grow as they travel. These changes make it slightly harder to hit shots at longer ranges without impacting the weapon’s performance at close-range or overall damage.

Bug Fixes & Improvements

• Fixed an issue in Arena where a tied round would display as a win, despite not counting towards the number of rounds won
• Fixed a visual bug in Firecracker that could cause the bomb indicator to appear over the heads of multiple teammates
• Improved performance and reduced reduced hitching in Battle Royale
• Improved the quality of Global Illumination in Battle Royale
• Improved performance and lighting for all dynamic and distant objects like item pickups, players, and chest in Battle Royale and Onslaught 
• Fixed an issue where graphical artifacts could appear when swapping weapons
• Improved the visual quality and rendering performance of items in the Store
• Ice on Custom Maps is now slippery
• Fixed a variety of graphics crashes

The full patch notes from Steam added even more information about the new additions to Splitgate 2. It has been revealed that players will need to play non-competitive modes for a while before gaining access to the new playlist, although 100,000 XP doesn’t take too long to acquire. Multiple modes will also be available, with more likely to be added or introduced over time. Currently, players can compete in Splitball, Hotzone, and Firecracker, and earn exclusive Charms and badges to reflect their rank for the season.

New Playlist: Ranked Arena

• Unlocked by earning 100,00 XP in any other playlists
• Rise up through the ranks, from Bronze up to Champion
• Compete across 3 modes: Splitball, Hotzone, and Firecracker
• Earn exclusive weapon Charms and badges based on the highest rank you achieve each season
• Stay tuned for more info on additional Ranked modes and adjustments in future seasons

Weapon Mastery Skins have been seen in other competitive shooters such as Call of Duty for many years now, giving players a reason to grind each weapon and become a skilled competitor with every loadout. Players will be able to unlock six different skins to show off their ability with each weapon, ranging from Carbon to Gold.

New Unlocks: Weapon Mastery Skins

• Prove your dedication by unlocking new, exclusive skins for every weapon
• Fully level a weapon to unlock its Mastery Challenges
• Complete a weapon’s first Mastery Challenge to unlock its Carbon skin
• Complete a weapon’s second Mastery Challenge to unlock its Gold skin
• Unlock 6 Gold weapon skins for a Faction to unlock the highest tier of Mastery Challenges which earn you Proelium skins
• Even more Mastery Challenges and exclusive skins are in the works for future seasons

The next Splitgate 2 Battle Pass is on the way when Season 1 Chapter 2 launches very soon, giving players new skins and other cosmetic items.

New Battle Pass: Season 1 Chapter 2

• Unlock new rewards in the second Season 1 mini Battle Pass, including:
  • 3 exclusive character skins
  • 11 exclusive weapon skins
  • An exclusive portal skin
  • Multiple emotes, sprays, charms, player card banners, and player card titles
  • 500 Splitcoin + 60 Proelium
• The Premium Battle Pass will cost 500 Splitcoin (roughly $4.99 USD).
• As a reminder, your Battle Pass tokens are not reset between Chapters. If you didn’t complete the Chapter 1 Battle Pass yet, you’ll still be able to unlock that content over the rest of the season.

Does 1047 Games Have Esports Glory In Its Sights?

In my opinion, Splitgate 1 was one of the best multiplayer games since Halo 3, and unfortunately, no one played it and saw just hundreds of concurrent players. The combination of Halo meets Portal led to some incredibly fun FPS gameplay, with the ability to pull off some very creative trick shots.

1047 Games did make a push to make it a top Esports title, and it was incredibly fun to watch, and I was a frequent viewer of the tournaments and events. Unfortunately, with such a stacked Esports scene including the likes of Call of Duty, Counter-Strike, and Valorant, Splitgate just couldn’t seem to break into the market.

Splitgate 2 feels more like an arena shooter built for Esports, and with the addition of Ranked Arena, it looks like 1047 Games could be setting its sights on a second opportunity to break into the scene, especially with competitive gaming being more popular than ever.

Unfortunately, at the time of writing, less than 2,000 people are playing Splitgate 2 on Steam, with it already seeing a drastic dip from the 25,000 peak just one month ago. I can’t figure out why Splitgate just can’t take off, but I hope 1047 Games doesn’t give up, as it has the potential to stand toe to toe with some of the biggest names in gaming, and this could be the first step to achieving that.