1047 Games announced that it will cease active development on its two titles, Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, and will move both games to a peer‑to‑peer (P2P) hosting model. The decision marks a strategic pivot for the studio after a decade of focusing on live‑service shooter experiences. In a brief statement posted on X earlier today, the company explained that the revenue generated by the two games no longer covers the expenses associated with maintaining dedicated server infrastructure.
While the studio had previously subsidised those costs in an effort to give the titles a chance to grow their player bases, it ultimately concluded that continuing to do so 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 developers wrote, expressing genuine disappointment at having to scale back support. 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 anyone to host a match and others to join.
To give the community a proper send‑off, Empulse will receive one final map and a price reduction across all regions as part of what the studio calls the "final update" for the game. This move mirrors the studio’s earlier handling of the original Splitgate. After its dedicated servers were taken offline last year, Splitgate transitioned to P2P hosting and remains playable on PC and console, albeit without the official matchmaking infrastructure that once powered its competitive scene. Splitgate 2, released in June 2025, quickly became a flashpoint of controversy.
The launch featured a "Make FPS Great Again" hat reminiscent of political slogans and a $145 cosmetic bundle that sparked backlash among players. Within a month of the release, 1047 Games announced a round of layoffs, the size of which was not disclosed. A further month later, the studio pushed the title back into a beta state and initiated a second wave of staff reductions, signaling significant turmoil within the project.
Empulse, positioned as a 6‑v‑6 movement shooter and often described as a spiritual successor to Titanfall, entered early access in June 2026. The game’s launch was followed by multiple rounds of layoffs within weeks, reflecting the broader financial pressures the studio was experiencing. Co‑founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian addressed the shift in a public statement, noting that after ten years of building live‑service shooters, the company's focus is evolving. "What we build next may look very different from what people expect from 1047 Games," they said, while reaffirming their core passion: "We love making games." The founders highlighted the studio’s history, noting that more than 25 million players have experienced their games and that many of those interactions have turned into lifelong friendships.
They emphasized that the lessons learned over the past decade will inform future projects, even if those projects diverge from the live‑service shooter formula. The announcement did not provide specific details about the current staffing situation. However, 1047 Games has already undergone several layoff cycles, the most recent occurring in July, shortly after Empulse’s launch. It remains uncertain whether the latest news will trigger additional reductions or if the company will stabilize its workforce as it re‑defines its development roadmap.
In summary, 1047 Games is winding down active development on Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, transitioning both titles to a peer‑to‑peer architecture to keep them playable without the cost of dedicated servers. The studio’s broader strategic shift away from live‑service shooters suggests a forthcoming change in creative direction, though the exact nature of future projects has yet to be disclosed. The community can expect a final map and price cut for Empulse, while both games will continue to be accessible via player‑hosted matches, preserving a degree of longevity for fans despite the cessation of official support.