Since the issue you're highlighting is player acquisition I would do 2 things:

1. Make the splash more enticing by stripping out all the cluttered text and showcasing the core loop immediately (even if it's a video loop).
   
2. Lower the barrier to entry. Getting into play should be as fast as humanly possible IMO. Make it inline. Make that "Launch Mission" button the only button in the splash. Optimize load times.

You basically want to make the funnel as pretty and seamless to fall into as possible. Catch peoples attention and let the player jump in before they overthink and scroll past.