1047 Games announced that it will stop active development on both Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, moving the two titles to a peer‑to‑peer (P2P) hosting model as of September 3. The decision marks a strategic pivot for the studio after a decade of focusing on live‑service first‑person shooters.
In a brief statement posted on X earlier today, the developers explained that the revenue generated by the two games no longer covers the expenses associated with maintaining dedicated server infrastructure. While the company had continued to subsidize those costs in hopes that the titles might eventually become self‑sustaining, it concluded that the financial model had become "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 announcement read, underscoring the emotional attachment the team feels toward its player base. Effective September 3, the dedicated servers and official matchmaking services for Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded will be decommissioned.
Players will instead rely on a P2P system complemented by a server browser, allowing them to host matches themselves and locate opponents manually. As a parting gesture, Empulse will receive a final new map and a universal price reduction across all regions, which the studio billed as the "final update" for the game. This transition mirrors what 1047 Games previously did with the original Splitgate.
After its dedicated servers were shut down last year, Splitgate migrated to a P2P architecture and remains playable on PC and consoles, albeit without the centralized matchmaking that once defined the experience. The background to these changes is rooted in a turbulent period for the studio. 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, the company announced an undisclosed round of layoffs, followed a month later by a decision to revert the game to beta status and a second wave of staff reductions. The rapid succession of events signaled deep financial and operational challenges. 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 layoff rounds, indicating that the title struggled to achieve the player numbers and monetisation needed to justify continued investment.
Co‑founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian used the announcement to articulate a broader shift in the company's vision. After ten years built around 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," 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 the studio has already undergone several layoff cycles, the most recent occurring in July, shortly after Empulse's launch. It remains uncertain whether the latest announcement will precipitate additional reductions.
In practical terms, the shift to P2P hosting means that players will need to be more proactive in setting up and joining matches. The server browser will list available host sessions, and community‑run servers will become the primary way to find opponents. This model reduces the operational overhead for the developer but places a greater burden on the player community to maintain a stable matchmaking environment.
Industry observers note that the move reflects a broader trend among mid‑size studios that have experimented with live‑service models only to discover that the ongoing costs of server maintenance, continuous content updates, and player retention can outweigh the benefits if a game fails to achieve a critical mass of active users. By transitioning to P2P, 1047 Games can keep its titles alive in a limited capacity while reallocating resources toward new initiatives. Looking ahead, the co‑founders hinted that the next project could diverge from the fast‑paced, competitive shooter genre that defined their brand. While no concrete details have been released, they emphasized a continued passion for game development and a commitment to applying the lessons learned over the past decade to whatever comes next.
For fans of Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, the immediate takeaway is that the games will remain playable, albeit with a different technical backbone. The final map for Empulse and the price cut serve as a farewell gesture, and the community’s willingness to host and organise matches will determine how long the titles stay vibrant.
The broader implication for the industry is a reminder that live‑service ambitions must be balanced against sustainable revenue streams, especially for studios without the deep pockets of larger publishers. In summary, 1047 Games is winding down active development on its two flagship shooters, moving them to a peer‑to‑peer framework, and signaling a strategic reorientation away from the live‑service shooter model that has defined its identity for the past ten years. The company’s future direction remains uncertain, but the founders reaffirm their love for creating games and their intention to carry forward the experience gained from this challenging chapter.