Splitgate has gone from "cult favorite" to "blockbuster" in record time: the competitive first-person shooter, described as "Halo meets Portal," has had 10 million downloads in less than 30 days, quite impressive for an indie game with a staff of only a few dozen. That's pretty impressive for an indie game with a staff of just a few dozen.

On the other hand, Splitgate's huge success has also created some friction. The game is in indefinite beta as developer 1047 Games adapts to a player base of millions rather than thousands. While this is bad news for gamers hoping for a quick full release, it is good news for gamers who are content to continue honing their skills with a product that is still in development.

Read on to find out the proper information about Splitgate, including how to download the game, play with people on other consoles, and how to rank up.

For those who have not yet played Splitgate, the concept is simple. This free-to-play game is a competitive multiplayer FPS, pitting two teams of four players against each other.

The twist is that while players have an array of standard sci-fi weapons, they can also create portals to move instantly across the battlefield. This opens up all kinds of possibilities for ambushes and counterattacks, and makes movement much faster than in similar games.

You can experience most of Splitgate's content by playing casual matches, but you can also compete in ranked multiplayer if that is your preference. The game offers seven ranks based on the number of points earned:

You gain or lose points per match, depending on how well you play and whether your team wins. There is no special trick to increasing your rank. You simply need to win more matches than you lose and improve your skills over time.

Good news for Splitgate fans. No matter which platform you choose, you can play with your friends. The game can be played on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Even better, this feature is enabled by default.

If you wish to turn off cross-play, simply uncheck the appropriate box on the Privacy tab from the Settings menu. That said, so far crossplay seems to be working very smoothly. At your discretion.

Splitgate's release date is an interesting issue, and there are three technicalities. The game debuted in early access on Steam on May 24, 2019. Since then, it has been available on PC and Linux. However, Splitgate's popularity did not explode until the console version (still in Early Access) appeared on July 27, 2021.

It is hard to say when the game will be released in full; they have yet to offer a firm date, as Splitgate has had to support a much larger community than the developers originally intended. In the meantime, it appears that until then, Splitgate will be free to play, so anyone who wants to play Splitgate should be able to do so.

If you want to play Splitgate, it is very easy. All you need is a PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and a stable internet connection. Splitgate is available on Steam for Windows or Linux, PlayStation Store for PlayStation, and Microsoft Store for Xbox. The game is free to play, so there is no need to pay for it.

Tom's Guide will continue to cover Splitgate until it moves toward a full release, whenever that may be.