After many years of Battle Royale games topping the charts, it seems like the gaming industry has finally started to move on. While the likes of Fortnite and Warzone are still incredibly popular, there’s a sense of fatigue around the community. This was especially evident when 343 Industries ran the Halo Infinite technical preview and everyone accepted it with open arms. Only a year ago, the same people were adamant that the game would fail if it didn’t include a battle royale mode at launch.
This doesn’t mean that there is no place for Battle Royale in games anymore though as any new game with a compelling enough idea could be the next big thing. For now, though, the chances of that being a battle royale game seem lower than they would’ve been last year. As a consequence, we’re starting to see a shift away from Battle Royale by developers as well. Battlefield 2042 and Halo Infinite, both arguably the biggest first-person shooter games of the year, won’t have a battle royale mode. Likewise, Splitgate, a game that has been in the hype cycle for a while has also just had an incredibly successful launch.
Splitgate feels like a modern first-person arena shooter with the charm of older games. It is simple, has an intriguing idea, and prioritizes fun over everything else. Dubbed as ‘Halo meets Portal’, Splitgate is exactly that, a Halo-like PvP shooter with portals that let you travel between different points on the map. We all love the mind-bending and incredibly fun puzzles of the Portal franchise. Now, turn that into a Halo slayer match and you’ve got Splitgate. The concept is easy to understand but at the same time results in some very complex plays that you just don’t see in mainstream shooters anymore.
Splitgate launch delayed due to excessive demand
Splitgate isn’t a new thing though as the game has been through multiple beta phases already. It started out as an early access game on PC way back in 2019. Having said that, the game did undergo a major overhaul before its eventual console beta release. After rave reviews from the players, Splitgate was finally meant to launch officially at the end of July 2021. However, due to the unexpected meteoric rise in popularity that caught the developers off guard, they had to move the release date to August to improve server capacity for launch. Now, the game is set to launch within the next few weeks.
Despite the launch date being moved though, the beta is still accessible to everyone. So, it doesn’t really matter as even your progression in beta carries over to the actual game when it launches. Having said that, it seems like the decision to delay the game was the correct one as people are already having problems with the game servers during the beta. Players have reported server connection errors while trying to jump into a game of Splitgate. The latest Splitgate error shows up as ‘Game Server Unavailable’ but it doesn’t always mean that the Splitgate servers are having a bad time.
Since the demand for the game is high, the servers are obviously going to be full, especially during the beta. However, if your internet connection and your connection to the game servers are good, then you can bypass this and potentially get into a game before other people. So, here are a few fixes that can help you get into a game of Splitgate and bypass the Game Server Unavailable error.
1. Hardwire your console or PC directly to the router:
If you’re playing Splitgate on an Xbox or PlayStation console, chances are that you’re connected to the internet via Wi-Fi. However, that isn’t the most ideal type of connection and comes with a lot of caveats. For instance, games need quick data transfer and require the latency to be as low as possible for an optimal experience. And, no matter how fast signals travel over the air, the physical medium of an ethernet cable will always be better.
In addition to that, multiplayer games also require priority to bandwidth over other devices and processes. So, if you’re using a lot of devices over the same wireless network, chances are that your console isn’t getting the priority over other devices. Connecting directly via Ethernet to your router helps navigate that problem though.
2. Enable QoS on your router:
If you’re unable to hardwire your console to the router due to logistical reasons, there is another way around it thankfully. Most modern routers come with a feature built into them called QoS or Quality of Service. It essentially does the same thing that an ethernet cable does for prioritizing your device over other devices on the same network. So, you could prioritize bandwidth to your console over another device, resulting in a better latency.
All you have to do is head into the router settings by typing your gateway address into a browser and logging in. After that, look for a setting called QoS and enable it. Once it is enabled, you’ll have the option to add devices to the priority list. So, just add your console to the list and you’re all set.
3. Prioritize the Splitgate process on PC:
Another way to make sure that Splitgate is getting the optimal bandwidth on PC is to do it manually via the task manager in Windows. All you have to do is right-click the taskbar, open the task manager and look for Splitgate under the Details tab. Once you’ve found the Splitgate process, right-click and set the priority to high or realtime.
If none of these methods work, you can also try to verify and repair game files. Just open the game properties for Splitgate in Steam and select the verify game files option.
Since Splitgate is still in beta, you can also report the issue to official support channels to hopefully get them sorted by the time of release.
Splitgate is a free-to-play PvP arena shooter that combines Halo gameplay with a Portal twist. The game is currently in beta and is available to play on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation consoles. You can check it out right here!