1047 Games has announced that it will stop 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 focusing on live‑service shooter experiences.
In a brief statement posted on 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 previously absorbed those costs in an effort to give the titles a chance to grow their player bases, it now finds the model "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 studio wrote. "Unfortunately, the financial realities force us to change direction." Effective September 3, the dedicated servers and the official matchmaking services for Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded will be shut down.
Players will instead rely on a server browser that facilitates direct P2P connections, allowing them to host and join matches on their own hardware. To give the community a proper send‑off, Empulse will receive one last map addition and a universal price reduction across all regions, which the studio has labeled the "final update" for the game. This transition mirrors the path taken with the original Splitgate, which also moved to P2P hosting last year after its dedicated servers were decommissioned. That version of Splitgate remains fully playable today on both PC and console platforms, demonstrating that a P2P model can keep a game alive even without official server support.
Splitgate 2, released in June 2025, quickly became the center of controversy. The launch featured a politically charged "Make FPS Great Again" hat and a $145 cosmetic bundle that sparked backlash across the community. Within a month of release, 1047 Games announced a round of layoffs, the size of which was not disclosed.
A further month later, the company reverted the title back to beta status and initiated a second wave of staff reductions, signaling deeper operational challenges. Empulse, positioned as a 6‑v‑6 movement‑focused shooter and often described as a spiritual successor to Titanfall, entered early access in June 2026.
The game’s rollout was accompanied by multiple rounds of layoffs occurring within weeks of its debut, underscoring the financial strain the studio was experiencing across its portfolio. Co‑founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian addressed the broader strategic shift in the same announcement. They noted that after ten years of building live‑service shooters, the studio’s focus is evolving, and 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 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 public statement did not provide specifics about current staffing levels, although the company has already undergone several layoff rounds, the most recent occurring in July—just weeks after Empulse launched. It remains uncertain whether the latest announcement will precipitate additional reductions.
The move to peer‑to‑peer hosting reflects a broader industry trend where smaller studios, faced with the high costs of running dedicated servers, opt for community‑driven networking solutions. While P2P can introduce challenges such as increased latency or reliance on player‑hosted machines, it also offers a cost‑effective way to keep a game playable without the overhead of server farms. For existing players, the transition means adapting to a new way of finding matches.
The server browser will list available host sessions, and players will need to join directly rather than relying on the studio‑run matchmaking queues. Some community members have expressed concerns about potential cheating and connection stability, issues that dedicated servers typically mitigate. However, 1047 Games has pledged to monitor the situation and provide tools to address any emerging problems. Looking ahead, the studio’s shift away from live‑service shooters could open the door to different genres or development approaches.
The founders hinted at a willingness to explore new ideas, leveraging the lessons learned from a decade of operating in the live‑service space. Whether that means returning to single‑player narratives, experimenting with hybrid multiplayer models, or even venturing into emerging technologies such as cloud gaming remains to be seen. In summary, 1047 Games is winding down active development on Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, moving both titles to a peer‑to‑peer framework, and signaling a strategic pivot away from the live‑service shooter model that defined its last ten years.
The community will have one final map and a price cut for Empulse, while both games will continue to be playable via player‑hosted sessions. The studio’s leadership emphasizes that the love for game creation remains unchanged, even as the company prepares for a new direction in its future endeavors.