1047 Games announced today that it will cease active development on its two flagship titles, Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded. The studio explained that, after a decade of investing in live‑service shooters, it is moving away from that model and will shift both games to a peer‑to‑peer (P2P) networking architecture as of September 3. This change reflects the company’s assessment that the revenue generated by the two titles is insufficient to sustain the ongoing expense of dedicated server infrastructure. In a brief statement posted on X, the developers said they had continued to fund server costs in the hope that the games would eventually reach a larger audience, but that the financial reality had become "no longer sustainable." They added that they have cherished the experience of creating, playing, and growing these communities, and expressed regret that they cannot keep supporting the titles in their current form.
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 uses a server browser, allowing individuals to host matches themselves and discover other hosts. To mark the transition, Empulse will receive one final map addition and a price reduction across all regions, which the studio described as the game’s "final update." This move mirrors a similar decision made with the original Splitgate earlier last year, when that title also migrated to P2P hosting after its dedicated servers were retired.
The original Splitgate remains fully playable on PC and consoles, demonstrating that a P2P model can keep a game alive even without central server support. The background to these announcements is turbulent. Splitgate 2 launched in June 2025 amid a wave of controversy, including the release of a politically charged "Make FPS Great Again" hat and a costly $145 cosmetic bundle. Within weeks of launch, 1047 Games announced a round of layoffs, and a month later the title was pushed back into beta and another wave of staff reductions followed.
Empulse, promoted as a 6‑v‑6 movement shooter and spiritual successor to Titanfall, entered early access in June 2026. Its debut was quickly followed by multiple rounds of layoffs, signaling ongoing financial strain. Co‑founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian used the recent statement to signal a strategic pivot. After ten years of building live‑service shooters, they said the studio’s focus is "changing" and that future projects may look very different from what fans have come to expect from 1047 Games.
They emphasized that the core motivation—love of game development—remains unchanged, and that the lessons learned over the past decade will inform whatever comes next. "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." While the announcement does not explicitly discuss staffing, it follows a pattern of layoffs that have plagued the company since the launch of Empulse.
The most recent reduction occurred in July, just weeks after Empulse’s early‑access debut. It remains uncertain whether the shift away from live‑service shooters will result in additional cuts or a restructuring of the development teams.
The transition to P2P hosting does have implications for the player base. Dedicated servers typically provide more stable latency, anti‑cheat measures, and a uniform matchmaking experience. P2P networks rely on individual hosts, which can lead to variable performance, increased susceptibility to cheating, and a reliance on community‑run servers.
However, many games have successfully operated under this model for years, and the inclusion of a server browser aims to mitigate matchmaking challenges by giving players visibility into active hosts. For Empulse, the final update will add a new map that expands the tactical options for the 6‑v‑6 combat scenarios, and the price cut is intended to attract new players who may have been deterred by the original cost. The developers hope that these incentives, combined with the ability for the community to host their own matches, will extend the game’s lifespan despite the loss of official server support.
Splitgate: Arena Reloaded will follow a similar path, with its own server browser allowing fans to organize matches. The original Splitgate’s continued viability after its own shift to P2P hosting provides a hopeful precedent that the arena‑style gameplay can persist without central servers. Overall, 1047 Games’ decision marks the end of an era for the studio’s live‑service ambitions.
By moving both Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded to peer‑to‑peer hosting, the company is acknowledging the financial realities of maintaining dedicated server infrastructure while still offering players a way to keep enjoying the games. The upcoming changes will test the resilience of the communities built around these titles and may set the stage for the studio’s next creative direction, whatever form that may take.