Introducing Hotzone, Lockdown, and Juggernaut

5.27.2022

Hey Splitgang, it’s Endo!

In last week’s blog, I brought up Abyss’s remaster and the improvements we’re making to Splitgate’s map roster. This time, I’m unveiling the three new game modes coming in Beta Season 2. It’s exciting stuff that makes Splitgate even more fun, so let’s portal in.

Remastering maps and overhauling menus aren’t the only things improving in Splitgate’s Beta. We’re also taking a look at game modes! Having a wide variety of fun and balanced modes is essential to any arena shooter, and Splitgate is no exception. So let’s learn what these modes are and why we made them!

Hotzone

Enter Hotzone, a new take on King of the Hill where no lead is safe. The premise is simple: Capture a zone by spending 30 uncontested seconds in it to score a point. That means you have to keep your opponent out of the zone for half a minute. First to 4 points wins in casuals or 6 points in ranked with a 10-minute time limit for both. Once a zone is captured, a new zone will appear elsewhere.

We noticed that King of the Hill had an issue with huge leads and rare comebacks, a problem that's called "Snowballing." In extreme cases, matches that were only halfway over would already be out of reach for the losing team. Hotzone was made to address those issues and make every game competitive. Every point counts and no team is ever out of it until the very end.

Lockdown

Lockdown is another reimagining of current game mode: Domination. Like Hotzone, Lockdown also addresses the issue of snowball-y matches.

In Dom, there are three stationary hills where one point is scored every second for every hill possessed. If one team captures all three for just one minute, the other team is down 180 points! For the rest of the game that team has to play catchup in a mode that favors the leader.

Lockdown solves this problem. Like classic Dom, Lockdown has three hills that need capturing but with a couple key differences. A point is scored when a team controls all three at the same time. All three hills will then move . First to 2 points wins in casual or 3 in ranked with a 10-minute time limit for both.

The score limit might seem super low, but in our tests, we found it to be just right. When I played Lockdown, the struggle to capture all three points was some of the most intense and fun moments I’ve had with Splitgate in a while. We compare it to a Soccer match because low, tight scores are exciting and every point feels like:

Juggernaut


The final mode might be familiar if you’ve played other shooters. We're always looking for ways to make free-for-all modes that are as interesting and fun as Oddball.

Juggernaut pits the entire lobby of players against one powered-up player. The Juggernaut gets more health, moves faster, but can’t portal. Points are scored for every second you’re the Juggernaut, and whoever lands the final blow becomes the next Juggernaut, even if they didn’t do the majority of the damage. It’s sort of a team mode of one vs. many, but the “one” and the “many” is always changing. The enemy of my enemy is your friend!

Starting in Beta Season 2, the 4v4 Ranked playlist will include Hotzone, Lockdown, and Team Deathmatch. Juggernaut will be in Quick Play, but you’ll also get to play Juggernaut in waiting lobbies! For those wondering, the upcoming Splitgate Pro Series season will continue using King of the Hill and Domination.

Want to know how these game modes will play? Watch any of these streamers preview Beta Season 2 LIVE today at 4pm Pacific!

That’s going to be it for me, let us know what you think of the game modes on Twitter or Discord!

-Endo