How long are the match queues?

Splitgate, a free arena shooter that looks like a mix between Halo and Portalis having a moment. You might even be able to play it now.

Currently in beta, developer 1047 Games postponed the full release of the game because too many people were trying to play. It remains incredibly popular, regularly offering five and sometimes six-digit simultaneous player counts (if you counting on all platforms). For a few days it was almost impossible to get into a match.

Read more: Splitgate Not just the slaps, he’s the best arena shooter in years

Earlier this week, SplitgateServers have seen an overwhelming wave, with players reporting wait times of an hour and a half or more. At the end of last month, 1047 games created a Twitter account only dedicated to providing updates on server status. There is also a Discord which offers more regular updates.

As a staff member of the 1047 Games Explain, the team can’t just buy more servers. Any solution would take some time to crystallize.

Two nights ago, although knowing the odds, I stupidly tried to play. I stood in the queue until my Xbox Series X automatically turned off from its power saving settings. It was as good a sign as any to call her for the night.

Yesterday things started to take shape. 1047 games took the servers offline for about an hour the next morning to perform standard maintenance, prohibit wire cutters, and increase capacity. It seems to have worked … a bit. The developer now said wait times are less than half an hour, with an average of five minutes. Now, there is apparently no queue at the time of this writing, although that is subject to change.

I stood in line late last night and got to watch an entire episode of Netflix Castlevania before entering a match. I will say: very practical timing!

Fundamentally, Splitgate feels like Halo 3, a game in which I devoted so many hours. There’s even a carbon copy of this game’s combat rifle, and some of the modes, like Eccentric and To crush, are more or less identical to their Halo counterparts. And yes, Splitgate nails the signature portals of Portal and Gate 2, two other games that I played a lot. These are things I wouldn’t have to travel far to find. You might think that retreading concepts that are ten years old would be a drag.

That said, playing them together is still an incredibly cool concept. Simply put, Splitgate is delicious. I’m not sure it’s worth the wait several hours. Very little in life is. But five minutes isn’t that bad.