1047 Games announced that it will stop active development on its two flagship titles, Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, and will move both projects to a peer‑to‑peer (P2P) hosting model. 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 company explained that the revenue generated by the two games no longer covers the expenses associated with maintaining dedicated server infrastructure. While the studio had continued to subsidise those costs in hopes of fostering growth, it ultimately concluded that the model had become financially unsustainable.
"We have loved working on these games, playing them, and building them with this community, and we wish we could continue supporting them," the announcement read, underscoring the bittersweet nature of the move. Effective September 3, the dedicated servers and official matchmaking services for Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded will be shut down. Players will instead rely on a P2P system that includes a server browser, allowing them to host their own matches and locate opponents without the need for centralised servers.
As a parting gesture, Empulse will receive one final map addition and a price reduction across all regions, which the studio described as the game’s “final update.” The transition mirrors a similar shift that 1047 Games made with the original Splitgate last year. After its dedicated servers were taken offline, Splitgate migrated to a P2P framework and remains playable on PC and console, albeit without the same level of matchmaking polish that a dedicated server environment provides. This precedent suggests that the studio believes the core gameplay experience can survive, and even thrive, in a community‑hosted setting, provided players are willing to take on the responsibility of hosting their own sessions.
Splitgate 2, released in June 2025, was immediately surrounded by controversy. The launch featured a politically charged "Make FPS Great Again" hat and a high‑priced $145 cosmetic bundle that sparked heated debate across the gaming community. Within weeks, 1047 Games announced a round of layoffs, the size of which was not disclosed. A month later the studio pushed the title back into beta status and initiated a second wave of staff reductions.
The turbulence surrounding Splitgate 2 highlighted the challenges of balancing monetisation, community expectations, and sustainable development practices in the live‑service arena. Empulse, positioned as a 6‑v‑6 movement shooter and often described as a spiritual successor to Titanfall, entered early access in June 2026.
The title promised fast‑paced, parkour‑style combat combined with a robust class system. However, just weeks after its launch, the studio underwent multiple rounds of layoffs, further indicating that the financial pressures were mounting across the company’s portfolio.
Co‑founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian used the announcement to signal a broader reorientation for 1047 Games. "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," they said. The founders reflected on the studio’s origins, noting that more than 25 million players have experienced their games and that many relationships forged during that time have become lifelong friendships.
They emphasized that the lessons learned from a decade of live‑service development will inform whatever comes next, even if the new projects diverge sharply from the shooter genre. The statement did not provide specific details about current staffing levels, though it is known that 1047 Games has already endured several layoffs, the most recent occurring in July, shortly after Empulse’s launch.
Whether the latest announcement will trigger additional reductions remains uncertain, but the pattern suggests a continued effort to trim operational costs and realign the company’s creative direction. In practical terms, the shift to peer‑to‑peer hosting means that players will need to be more proactive in setting up matches. The server browser will list active hosts, and community‑run lobbies will become the primary avenue for finding opponents.
While this model reduces the financial burden of server maintenance, it can introduce challenges such as increased latency, potential for host‑advantage, and a reliance on the community to keep servers online. Some players may welcome the increased control, while others might miss the convenience and reliability of dedicated matchmaking.
The final update for Empulse, which includes a new map and a price cut, appears to be an attempt to give the game a graceful exit, offering players fresh content and a more affordable entry point before the official server shutdown. For Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, the transition to P2P will likely preserve the core arena‑style gameplay, but without the official matchmaking queues, competitive scenes may fragment as players gravitate toward private or community‑run tournaments.
Overall, 1047 Games’ decision reflects a broader industry trend where studios reassess the viability of live‑service models, especially when revenue streams fail to keep pace with the high operational costs of dedicated server farms. By moving to a peer‑to‑peer architecture, the company can continue to support its existing player bases while freeing up resources to explore new genres or development approaches.
The next chapter for 1047 Games remains unwritten, but the founders’ commitment to “making games” suggests that, regardless of the format, they will continue to bring new experiences to the market, informed by a decade of hard‑won insights.