1047 Games announced that it will cease all active development on its two flagship titles, Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, and will move both experiences 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 games, a shift driven by financial realities and a desire to explore new directions. In a brief statement posted to X earlier today, the developers explained that neither Empulse nor Splitgate: Arena Reloaded was generating sufficient revenue to offset the ongoing expenses of maintaining dedicated server infrastructure. While the studio had continued to subsidize those costs in the hope that the games would eventually become self‑sustaining, it concluded that the model had become "no longer sustainable." The announcement was candid about the financial pressures that small‑to‑mid‑size studios face when they rely on costly server farms to host multiplayer matches.
"We have loved working on these games, playing them, and building them with this community, and we wish we could continue supporting them," the post read. The sentiment underscores the emotional attachment the team feels toward its creations and the players who have supported them over the years. Effective September 3, the dedicated servers and the associated matchmaking services for both Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded will be shut down. In their place, the games will adopt a peer‑to‑peer architecture complemented by a server browser that allows players to host their own matches and discover others' sessions.
This approach ensures that the titles remain playable even after the official server infrastructure is retired. As a parting gesture, Empulse will receive a final new map and a price reduction across all regions, which the studio has labeled the "final update" for the game. The transition to P2P is not unprecedented for 1047 Games.
The original Splitgate made a similar switch last year after its dedicated servers were decommissioned, and the title continues to be accessible on both PC and console platforms. That prior experience gave the studio a template for how to gracefully sunset server‑dependent services while preserving community access. Splitgate 2, released in June 2025, launched amid a storm of controversy.
The game featured a politically charged "Make FPS Great Again" hat and a $145 cosmetic bundle that sparked backlash from many players. Within a month of its release, the company announced layoffs affecting an undisclosed number of staff members. A further month later, the title was rolled back to a beta state, prompting a second wave of layoffs.
These events highlighted the volatility of the live‑service market and the challenges of balancing monetisation strategies with community expectations. Empulse, positioned as a 6v6 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 staff reductions, reflecting the studio's ongoing struggle to sustain development costs without a reliable revenue stream from dedicated server hosting. Co‑founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian addressed the broader strategic shift in their statement, noting that after ten years of building live‑service shooters, the studio's focus is now "changing." They emphasized that whatever 1047 Games creates next may look dramatically different from its previous offerings, but the core motivation—"we love making games"—remains unchanged.
The founders reflected on the studio's legacy: "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." The announcement did not provide specifics 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 shift will trigger additional reductions or if the studio will stabilize its workforce as it re‑orients its development philosophy. Looking ahead, the move away from dedicated servers signals a broader industry trend where smaller studios reassess the viability of live‑service models that demand constant server upkeep and ongoing content pipelines. By embracing peer‑to‑peer networking, 1047 Games can reduce operational costs, extend the lifespan of its existing titles, and free up resources to experiment with new genres or gameplay concepts.
The company has hinted that future projects could diverge significantly from the fast‑paced, competitive shooter formula that defined its brand for a decade. For the player community, the transition means that while the polished matchmaking experience of dedicated servers will disappear, the core gameplay loops of Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded will persist. Players will need to become comfortable with hosting their own sessions, using the new server browser to find matches, and potentially dealing with the increased variability that peer‑to‑peer connections can introduce, such as latency differences and host‑advantage concerns.
The final map addition and price cut for Empulse serve as a modest goodwill gesture, offering existing fans a fresh piece of content and a more affordable entry point as the game moves toward its sunset phase. In summary, 1047 Games is winding down active development on Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, shifting both games to a peer‑to‑peer model and ending dedicated server support on September 3. The decision reflects financial pressures, a series of recent layoffs, and a strategic pivot away from the live‑service shooter niche that has defined the studio for ten years. While the future direction of 1047 Games remains to be seen, the founders reaffirm their passion for game creation and hint at a potentially transformative next chapter for the company.