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 the studio signals a strategic pivot away from the live‑service shooter genre after a decade of focus. In a brief statement posted to X earlier today, the company explained that the revenue generated by the two games no longer covers the ongoing expenses of maintaining dedicated server infrastructure.
While the studio had continued to subsidise those costs in the hope that the titles might eventually become self‑sustaining, it now acknowledges that this approach is "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 developers wrote, expressing both gratitude and disappointment at the need to change course. 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 their own matches and find opponents manually. As part of what the studio calls the "final update" for Empulse, the game will receive one last new map and a price reduction across all regions, giving fans a modest farewell treat.
This move mirrors the studio’s earlier decision with the original Splitgate, which also transitioned to P2P hosting after its dedicated servers were retired last year. That version of Splitgate remains fully playable today, even on console platforms, despite the lack of official matchmaking. The background to these changes is rooted in a turbulent period for 1047 Games.
Splitgate 2 launched in June 2025 amid a wave of controversy, notably the inclusion of a "Make FPS Great Again" hat reminiscent of political slogans and a $145 cosmetic bundle that sparked backlash among players. Within a month of release, the company announced an undisclosed round of layoffs, and a further reduction in staff followed a month later when the game was reverted to a beta state, prompting a second wave of cuts. Empulse, positioned as a 6‑v‑6 movement shooter and marketed as a spiritual successor to Titanfall, entered early access in June 2026. The title’s launch was quickly followed by multiple rounds of layoffs, reflecting the studio’s struggle to balance development costs with a relatively small player base.
Co‑founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian used the recent announcement to outline a broader shift in the company’s direction. After ten years spent 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," 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 details about the current staffing situation, although the company has already undergone several layoff rounds, the most recent occurring in July, just weeks after Empulse’s early‑access debut. It remains uncertain whether the latest announcement will trigger additional reductions.
Industry observers note that the transition to P2P hosting is a common cost‑cutting measure for studios that can no longer justify the expense of dedicated servers. While P2P can keep a game alive for a core community, it often results in higher latency, increased susceptibility to cheating, and a reliance on players to organize matches manually.
For Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, the shift may preserve a modest player base but will likely limit growth potential. Fans of both titles have expressed mixed reactions. Some appreciate the studio’s transparency and the final content update for Empulse, while others worry that the loss of official matchmaking will further erode the already‑shrinking communities.
The broader implication for 1047 Games is a clear departure from the live‑service model that defined its most high‑profile releases, suggesting the studio may explore new genres, development approaches, or even smaller‑scale projects that require less ongoing server maintenance. In summary, 1047 Games is winding down active development on Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, moving both games to peer‑to‑peer hosting on September 3, and providing a final content patch for Empulse. The decision reflects financial realities and a strategic reorientation after a decade of focusing on live‑service shooters, a shift that may lead the studio down a markedly different creative path in the years ahead.