1047 Games announced that it will cease active development on its two flagship titles, Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, and will move both games to a peer‑to‑peer (P2P) networking model as of September 3. The decision marks a significant strategic pivot for the studio, which has spent the past decade concentrating on live‑service shooter experiences.
In a brief statement posted to X earlier today, the studio explained that the revenue generated by the two games no longer covers the ongoing expenses of maintaining dedicated server infrastructure. While the company had previously subsidised those costs in an effort to give each title a chance to grow its player base, it now acknowledges that this approach has become financially untenable.
"We have loved working on these games, playing them, and building them with this community, and we wish we could continue supporting them," the post read, underscoring the emotional attachment the developers feel toward their creations and the fans who have supported them. Effective September 3, the dedicated servers and the associated matchmaking services for Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded will be decommissioned.
Players will instead rely on a P2P system that uses a server browser, allowing individuals to host their own matches and locate others who are doing the same. To give the community a proper send‑off, Empulse will receive one final map addition and a universal price reduction across all regions, which the studio has billed as the game’s “final update.” This move mirrors a similar transition that occurred with the original Splitgate.
After its dedicated servers were shut down last year, the title was shifted to a P2P architecture and remains fully playable today on both PC and console platforms. Splitgate 2, which launched in June 2025, quickly became a lightning rod for controversy. The game’s promotional material featured a politically charged “Make FPS Great Again” hat, and a premium cosmetic bundle was priced at $145. Within a month of release, 1047 Games announced a wave of layoffs, the size of which was not disclosed.
A further month later, the studio pushed the title back into a beta state and initiated a second round of staff reductions. Empulse, billed as a 6‑vs‑6 movement‑focused shooter and often described as a spiritual successor to Titanfall, entered early access in June 2026. Its launch was followed by several rounds of layoffs within a matter of weeks, signaling ongoing financial strain.
Co‑founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian used the announcement to signal a broader shift in the company’s creative direction. After ten years of building live‑service shooters, they said the studio’s focus is now "changing," and that future projects may look very different from what fans have come to expect from 1047 Games. "We started 1047 Games ten years ago because we love video games," the founders wrote. "Since then, more than 25 million people have played our games, and many of the people we've met along the way have become lifelong friends.
After ten years of focusing on live‑service shooters, our focus is changing. What we build next may look very different from what people expect from 1047 Games, but what has not changed is why we are here: we love making games. We have learned a lot over the years, and we will carry those lessons into what we build next." The statement did not provide specifics about the current staffing situation, although the company has already undergone multiple rounds of layoffs, the most recent occurring in July, just weeks after Empulse’s early‑access debut.
It remains unclear whether the latest announcement will trigger additional reductions. Industry observers note that the shift away from dedicated servers is a pragmatic response to the economics of live‑service titles, which often require a critical mass of concurrent players to justify the ongoing cost of server farms. By moving to P2P, 1047 Games can keep the games playable without the overhead of maintaining expensive backend infrastructure. However, P2P networking can introduce challenges such as increased latency, host‑advantage concerns, and reliance on players’ own internet connections, which may affect the overall experience.
For the community, the transition means that those who wish to continue playing will need to become comfortable with hosting their own matches or joining games hosted by others. The server browser will replace the streamlined matchmaking that dedicated servers provided, potentially leading to longer wait times or a more fragmented player base. Despite the setbacks, the studio’s commitment to delivering a final map for Empulse and a price cut suggests an effort to give the community a respectful farewell. The price reduction may also attract new players who have been hesitant to invest in a title that is no longer receiving active development.
Looking ahead, 1047 Games has hinted at a new creative direction that could diverge from the shooter genre entirely. While details remain scarce, the founders’ emphasis on their passion for game development and the lessons learned over a decade suggests that any future project will benefit from hard‑won experience in community building, live‑service economics, and iterative design.
In summary, 1047 Games is winding down active support for Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, transitioning both to peer‑to‑peer hosting, offering a final content update for Empulse, and signaling a broader strategic shift away from live‑service shooters. The move reflects financial realities, ongoing staffing challenges, and a desire to explore new horizons in game development, even as the studio bids farewell to two of its most prominent titles.