1047 Games has been given a $1.5 billion valuation and has raised $100 million in funding after the success of its flagship game Splitgate.

Splitgate is a free-to-play multiplayer first-person shooter video game, developed and published by the American independent studio 1047 Games.

The game was released in May 2019 for Linux and Microsoft Windows on Steam, and in July 2021 on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. 

During the second release this July, the game achieved 13 million downloads in only 2 months.

1047 Games CEO and co-founder, Ivan Proulx, started working on the game in 2017 as a free online arena shooter while he was at university studying a degree in computer science.

The game was originally his university major project, but after trialling it with a few friends the game soon acquired a cult fanbase. 

When Proulx decided to elevate the game with more funding, Lightspeed Venture Partners led the pack, alongside Insight Partners, Anthos Capital, and earlier seed round investors Galaxy Interactive, VGames, Human Capital, Lakestar, DraperDragon, and Draper University.

Now with $100 million in raised funds, Proulx said they are focusing on the next big game business.

Proulx told TechCrunch: “The scope of what we can do is now through the roof.”

“There’s so much we couldn’t think about because we were a tiny team with a tiny budget, but now everything is on the table. 

“We’re focusing on the long term – I look at the game as being 25% done.

“We don’t need to be Fortnite tomorrow, but now it really is about building the next Riot Games, the next big games business,” Proux said. 

Proulx said it is not about “throwing the money at Splitgate” but hiring the right people to achieve long-term success. 

“We read everything, we’re listening, keep the feedback coming,” Proulx said.

“We’re still operating like the indie team that had to stay close with our community – we’re still in that mindset.

“But now we just have a ridiculous amount of money,” he said.