1047 Games announced that it will stop active development on its two flagship titles, Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, and will move both games to a peer‑to‑peer (P2P) hosting model. The decision marks a clear pivot for the studio after a decade of focusing on live‑service shooters. In a brief statement posted to X earlier today, the company explained that the revenue generated by the two games no longer covers the expense of maintaining dedicated server infrastructure.
While the studio had continued to subsidize those costs in hopes that the titles might eventually become self‑sustaining, it now acknowledges that this approach is "no longer sustainable." "We have loved working on these games, playing them, and building them with this community, and we wish we could continue supporting them," the developers wrote. "Unfortunately, the economics no longer allow us to keep the dedicated servers running." Effective September 3, the dedicated servers and official matchmaking services for both Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded will be shut down. Players will instead rely on a P2P system that uses a server browser, allowing individuals to host their own matches and discover others' games.
To give the community a proper send‑off, Empulse will receive one last new map and a universal price reduction across all regions as part of what the studio has dubbed the "final update" for the title. This is not the first time 1047 Games has moved a title away from dedicated servers. The original Splitgate transitioned to P2P hosting last year after its own dedicated servers were taken offline, and the game remains fully playable on PC and consoles.
That earlier shift was similarly framed as a way to keep the community alive despite financial constraints. The background to these changes is turbulent. Splitgate 2 launched in June 2025 amid a wave of controversy, including a polarising "Make FPS Great Again" hat and a $145 cosmetic bundle that sparked backlash.
Within weeks of launch, 1047 Games announced a round of layoffs, cutting an undisclosed number of staff members. A month later the studio pushed the title back into beta and announced a second wave of reductions, further shrinking the development team. Empulse, billed as a 6‑v‑6 movement shooter and spiritual successor to Titanfall, entered early access in June 2026.
Its launch was quickly followed by multiple rounds of layoffs, reflecting the same financial pressures that have plagued Splitgate 2. The rapid succession of staff cuts raised concerns about the studio's long‑term viability and its ability to support ongoing development.
Co‑founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian used the announcement to signal a broader strategic shift. "We started 1047 Games ten years ago because we love video games," they 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, though it is known that the studio has already undergone several layoff rounds, the most recent occurring in July, just weeks after Empulse's early‑access debut. It remains uncertain whether the September announcement will trigger additional reductions or if the company will stabilize its workforce as it re‑orients its development priorities.
Industry observers note that the move away from live‑service shooters may reflect a broader market trend. Maintaining dedicated servers is expensive, and many mid‑size studios have struggled to monetize multiplayer experiences sufficiently to cover those costs.
By shifting to P2P, developers can keep games playable without the overhead of server farms, but the model often comes with trade‑offs in terms of matchmaking quality, latency, and anti‑cheat robustness. For players of Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, the transition means that matchmaking will no longer be handled by the studio's servers.
Instead, players will need to rely on the in‑game server browser to find matches hosted by other community members. This can lead to longer wait times and potentially uneven game experiences, especially for those with limited bandwidth or high ping. However, the studio's decision to release a final map for Empulse and to lower its price globally suggests an effort to reward the existing player base and encourage continued engagement despite the technical shift. Looking ahead, 1047 Games has hinted that its next project could diverge significantly from the live‑service shooter formula that defined its brand for a decade.
While no concrete details have been released, the co‑founders' remarks imply a willingness to explore new genres or business models, possibly focusing on single‑player experiences, narrative‑driven games, or smaller‑scale multiplayer titles that do not require costly server infrastructure. In summary, 1047 Games is ending active development on Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, moving both games to peer‑to‑peer hosting as of September 3, and providing a final content update for Empulse. The decision underscores the financial challenges of sustaining dedicated server costs for live‑service shooters and signals a strategic pivot for the studio after ten years in that space. The community will need to adapt to the new hosting model, and the company's future direction remains to be seen, though the founders emphasize a continued passion for game creation and a commitment to applying the lessons learned from the past decade to whatever comes next.