1047 Games announced that it will cease active development on its two flagship titles, Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, and will move both experiences to a peer‑to‑peer (P2P) networking model. The decision marks a significant strategic pivot for the studio after a decade of focusing on live‑service first‑person shooters. In a brief statement posted to X earlier today, the developers explained that the revenue generated by the two games no longer covers the ongoing expenses associated with maintaining dedicated server infrastructure.
While the company had continued to subsidize server costs in an effort to give each title a chance to grow its player base, it ultimately concluded that this approach had 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 studio wrote, expressing both gratitude and disappointment. 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 individuals to host their own matches and locate others who are doing the same. As part of what the company is calling the final update for Empulse, the game will receive one last new map and a price reduction across all regions. This is not the first time 1047 Games has migrated a title to P2P hosting.
The original Splitgate made the same transition last year after its dedicated servers were taken offline, and the game remains fully playable on PC and console under the new model. The background to this shift is rooted in a turbulent period for the studio. Splitgate 2 launched in June 2025 amid a wave of controversy, including a politically charged "Make FPS Great Again" hat and a $145 cosmetic bundle that sparked backlash from the community.
Within weeks of the launch, the company announced an undisclosed round of layoffs, and a month later it reverted the title back to beta status and initiated a second wave of staff reductions. Empulse, billed as a 6‑vs‑6 movement shooter and often described as a spiritual successor to Titanfall, entered early access in June 2026. The title’s debut was quickly followed by multiple rounds of layoffs, reflecting the studio’s struggle to sustain development costs while the player count failed to meet expectations.
Co‑founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian addressed the broader implications of the decision, stating that after ten years of building live‑service shooters, the studio’s focus is now "changing." They hinted that future projects may diverge sharply from the high‑octane, server‑driven experiences that have defined 1047 Games to date. "We started 1047 Games ten years ago because we love video games," the founders said. "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 announcement did not provide details about the current staffing situation, although the company has already undergone several layoff cycles, the most recent occurring in July, just weeks after Empulse’s early‑access launch. It remains uncertain whether the shift away from dedicated servers will be accompanied by further reductions in personnel.
From a broader industry perspective, 1047 Games’ move reflects a growing awareness among developers that the live‑service model, while potentially lucrative, also carries significant ongoing costs and risk. Maintaining dedicated server farms requires a steady stream of active players and consistent microtransaction revenue. When those streams falter, the financial burden can quickly outweigh the benefits, leading studios to either re‑engineer their games for P2P play or discontinue them altogether.
For the community of Empulse and Splitgate players, the transition to peer‑to‑peer hosting means a more hands‑on approach to matchmaking. Players will need to host their own sessions or join games hosted by others, which can introduce variability in latency and stability compared to the uniform experience provided by dedicated servers. However, the inclusion of a server browser aims to mitigate these challenges by making it easier to locate active hosts and filter by region or ping. The final content update for Empulse, featuring a new map and a global price cut, appears to be an effort to give the game a respectable send‑off and encourage any remaining fans to continue playing under the new architecture.
It also serves as a modest gesture of goodwill, acknowledging the community’s support despite the financial realities that forced the studio’s hand. Looking ahead, 1047 Games has signaled that it will apply the lessons learned from a decade of live‑service development to its next venture.
While the specifics remain under wraps, the founders’ remarks suggest a willingness to explore new genres, business models, or perhaps a return to more traditional, single‑player or smaller‑scale multiplayer experiences that do not rely on costly server infrastructure. In summary, the cessation of active development on Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, coupled with the shift to peer‑to‑peer hosting, marks the end of an era for 1047 Games.
It underscores the financial pressures inherent in the live‑service shooter market and hints at a forthcoming reinvention of the studio’s creative direction. Players can continue to enjoy both titles through community‑hosted matches, while the studio prepares to chart a new course in game development.