A Splitgate 2 developer who has gone viral following a Summer Game Fest appearance says he’s “not here to apologize” over his unpopular messaging, because he was not making “a political statement.”

Ian Proulx, CEO of developer 1047 Games, took to the SGF stage last night wearing a black ‘Make FPS Games Great Again’ hat in a clear riff on the traditionally red hats worn by supporters of current US president Donald Trump. It was a move that snatched defeat from the jaws of victory – Splitgate 2 looks pretty good and had plenty of good buzz around it, but Proulx made himself arguably the biggest villain of last night’s show with his stunt.

In response to a pretty rapid outpouring of bad feelings on social media, Proulx took to Twitter after the event, not to apologize, but to “clarify” the message behind the hat. “This is not a political statement,” he says. “It is quite literally what it says, so take it at face value.”

“The state of multiplayer FPS games is tragically stale,” he continues. Last night, he said that he was making Splitgate 2 because he’s “tired of playing the same Call of Duty every year,” and wants to channel the experience he had playing Halo when he was younger. He claimed his new game is “f***ing awesome, and says that he “hopes to fix” that stale feeling, but given the Mixed Steam reviews that Splitgate 2 has launched to, I think that might not be quite what he’s managed.

Check out our Summer Game Fest schedule so that you can see more unscripted on-stage moments as they happen.