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 clear pivot for the studio after a decade of concentrating on live‑service, server‑driven shooters.
In a brief statement posted to X earlier today, the company explained that neither title is generating sufficient revenue to sustain the ongoing expenses of dedicated server infrastructure. While the studio had continued to subsidize those costs in an effort to give the games a chance to grow their player bases, it ultimately concluded that the model was "no longer sustainable." The developers expressed genuine affection for the projects, noting that they have enjoyed building, playing, and sharing the experiences with their communities, and lamented that they cannot continue to support the games in their current form.
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 locate others who are doing the same. To give Empulse a proper send‑off, the studio plans to release one final map and apply a price reduction across all regions as part of what it has labeled the "final update" for that title. This move mirrors the transition that the original Splitgate underwent last year.
After its dedicated servers were taken offline, Splitgate shifted to a P2P architecture and remains fully playable today, including on console platforms. The precedent suggests that 1047 Games hopes to keep its community engaged despite the loss of centralized server support. The background to this shift is turbulent. Splitgate 2 launched in June 2025 amid a wave of controversy, most notably the inclusion of a politically charged "Make FPS Great Again" hat and a $145 cosmetic bundle that sparked heated debate within the gaming community.
Within a month of release, the studio announced layoffs affecting an undisclosed number of staff members. A further month later, the game was rolled back to a beta state, prompting a second round of cuts.
Empulse, positioned as a 6v6 movement‑focused shooter and often described as a spiritual successor to Titanfall, entered early access in June 2026. Its launch was quickly followed by multiple rounds of layoffs, underscoring the financial pressures the studio has been facing. Both titles, despite their initial hype and dedicated fan bases, struggled to achieve the player counts needed to justify the cost of running dedicated server farms. Co‑founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian used the announcement to signal a broader strategic reorientation.
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. "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 statement did not directly address staffing levels, it is worth noting that 1047 Games has already undergone several layoff waves, the most recent occurring in July—just weeks after Empulse’s early‑access launch. Whether the latest announcement will trigger additional reductions remains uncertain, but the pattern suggests a continued contraction of the development team as the studio trims its operations to a more sustainable size. The transition to peer‑to‑peer hosting does have practical implications for players.
Without dedicated servers, matchmaking times may increase, and the quality of connections can vary widely depending on the host’s internet stability. However, the server browser gives players more control, allowing them to select matches with lower latency or to create private lobbies for friends.
For those who prefer the reliability of centralized servers, the change may be disappointing, but it also ensures that the games remain accessible rather than being shut down entirely. Industry observers see 1047 Games’ shift as part of a larger trend where mid‑size studios reevaluate the viability of live‑service models, especially when revenue streams do not keep pace with the high operational costs of server maintenance.
The move may encourage other developers to consider hybrid or P2P solutions for titles with modest player bases, balancing cost efficiency with community retention. In summary, 1047 Games is ending active development on Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, moving both to a peer‑to‑peer framework from September 3, providing a final map and price cut for Empulse, and signaling a strategic pivot away from live‑service shooters after a decade of work. The studio’s founders emphasize a continued passion for game creation, hinting at future projects that could diverge significantly from their current portfolio, while the community braces for the technical and social adjustments that accompany the server transition.