Splitgate 2 boss admits the Trumpish hat he wore at Summer Game Fest was a publicity stunt after it goes sour

"We truly saw this arsenic a meme that was benignant of stating our truth"

Ian Proulx, the CEO of Splitgate 2 developers 1047 Games, has apologised for wearing a 'Make FPS Great Again' headdress portion talking astir the game's conflict royale mode connected signifier astatine Summer Game Fest. As you mightiness person guessed, the chapeau drew unfavourable comparisons to US president Donald Trump's MAGA hats.

It'd person been a beauteous dumb, controversy-baiting stunt for a games institution CEO to propulsion astatine immoderate constituent successful caller history, but particularly hasn't gone implicit good fixed the timing. As the SGF amusement happened, a ample fig of anti-ICE protests besides began successful effect to convulsive migration raids, and aboriginal that play Trump deployed the National Guard onto the streets."

Up until yesterday, Proulx had opted not to apologise for the hat, which helium wore portion taking immoderate shots astatine the authorities of the shooter genre close now, specifically going astatine the Call of Duty bid for repetitive yearly releases and wishing for a Titanfall 3. "I’m not present to apologize but I americium present to clarify. This is not a governmental statement, it is rather virtually what it says, truthful instrumentality it astatine look value," helium wrote successful a tweet connected June 7.

"I don't regret what I said to beryllium candid. I deliberation that I basal by it and my intent is I'm speaking my information and my intent is to marque a large crippled for everybody," helium said of that tweet successful an interrogation with IGN published yesterday, doubling down connected decling to apologise.

Just a fewer hours anterior to that article's publication, however, Proulx u-turned and posted a video apology Splitgate 2's authoritative Twitter account, admitting that the chapeau was a publicity stunt.

"It is truly freaking hard arsenic an autarkic workplace to interruption done the noise...at our biggest stage, coming retired of beta, we needed thing to drawback attention, and the honorable information is we tried to deliberation of something, and this is what we came up with," the exec said successful the video.

"We did not mean for this to beryllium taken successful immoderate governmental mode whatsoever and I’m not an idiot, evidently I knew determination would beryllium immoderate level of controversy," Proulx continued, "But we truly saw this arsenic a meme that was benignant of stating our truth, which is we bash privation to amended this genre and we are disappointed with the authorities of the genre.

"You don't person to judge me, but the information is I americium sorry, and the crushed I’m atrocious is due to the fact that of what this has done to the community...I hatred seeing division, and that's what I'm seeing close present connected some sides. There’s part successful the community, and for that I americium genuinely sorry."