1047 Games has announced that it will cease active development on its two flagship titles, Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, and will move both projects to a peer‑to‑peer (P2P) hosting architecture as of September 3. The decision marks a significant pivot for the studio, which has spent the past decade concentrating 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 justifies the expense of maintaining dedicated server infrastructure.
While the studio had continued to subsidise those costs in an effort to give the titles a chance to grow their player bases, it ultimately concluded that the 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 bittersweet nature of the move. 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 complemented by a server browser, allowing them to host their own matches and locate opponents without the need for central servers. As part of what the studio calls the "final update" for Empulse, the game will receive one last new map and a universal price reduction across all regions.
This transition mirrors a similar shift that occurred with the original Splitgate. After its dedicated servers were taken offline last year, that title also moved to P2P hosting and remains fully playable today, including on console platforms. The background to these changes is rooted in a turbulent period for the company.
Splitgate 2 launched in June 2025 amid a wave of controversy, most notably the inclusion of a "Make FPS Great Again" hat and a $145 cosmetic bundle that sparked intense debate within the community. Within a month of release, 1047 Games announced an undisclosed round of layoffs, and a further wave followed a month later when the game was reverted to a beta state, prompting a second round of staff reductions.
Empulse, billed as a 6‑v‑6 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, reflecting the studio's ongoing struggle to balance development costs with player revenue. Founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian used the announcement to signal a broader strategic shift.
After ten years of building live‑service shooters, they said the studio's focus is now "changing," and that whatever they create next may look very different from the products fans have come to associate with 1047 Games. "We started 1047 Games ten years ago because we love video games," the co‑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." The statement did not provide specifics about the current staffing situation, although the company has already undergone several layoff cycles, the most recent occurring in July, just weeks after Empulse's early‑access debut.
It remains uncertain whether the latest announcement will be accompanied by additional reductions. From a broader industry perspective, 1047 Games' move reflects a growing awareness among developers that the live‑service shooter model, while potentially lucrative, also carries substantial ongoing costs. Dedicated server maintenance, continuous content updates, and the need to sustain a vibrant player community can strain studios, especially when player retention falls short of expectations. By shifting to peer‑to‑peer hosting, the studio reduces its operational overhead and places more control in the hands of the community.
However, this approach can introduce challenges such as increased latency, reliance on player‑hosted connections, and potential security concerns. The inclusion of a server browser aims to mitigate these issues by making it easier for players to find stable, well‑maintained hosts. For fans of Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, the transition means that the games will remain playable, albeit without the polished matchmaking experience that dedicated servers provide.
The final map addition for Empulse and the price cut are intended as goodwill gestures, giving players a reason to continue enjoying the title despite the reduced support. Looking ahead, 1047 Games has hinted that its next project could diverge significantly from the shooter genre. While details remain scarce, the founders' emphasis on passion and the lessons learned over a decade suggests a willingness to explore new gameplay mechanics, narrative styles, or perhaps even entirely different platforms.
In summary, 1047 Games is winding down active development on Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, moving both to a peer‑to‑peer model as of September 3, and offering a final content update for Empulse. The decision underscores a strategic shift away from the costly live‑service shooter framework that defined the studio for ten years, and it opens the door to a new creative direction that may surprise both longtime fans and industry observers alike.