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 of September 3. The decision marks a broader strategic pivot for the studio after a decade of focusing on live‑service first‑person shooters.
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 subsidize those costs in the hope that the titles would eventually become self‑sustaining, it now acknowledges that the model has 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 post read, underscoring the emotional attachment the team feels toward its player base. 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 addition and a price reduction across all regions, which the studio has labeled the "final update" for the title. This is not the first time 1047 Games has migrated a product to a P2P framework. The original Splitgate made the same transition last year after its dedicated servers were decommissioned, and the game remains fully playable on PC and consoles, albeit without the centralized matchmaking that once defined it.
The background to these moves is worth noting. Splitgate 2 launched in June 2025 amid a storm of controversy, including the release of a politically charged "Make FPS Great Again" hat and a $145 cosmetic bundle that many fans found excessive.
Within weeks of launch, the studio announced a round of layoffs, the size of which was never disclosed. A month later, the game was pushed back into a beta state, prompting a second wave of staff reductions. Empulse, billed as a 6‑v‑6 movement shooter and a spiritual successor to Titanfall, entered early access in June 2026.
Its debut was quickly followed by multiple rounds of layoffs, reflecting the company's struggle to balance development costs with a relatively modest player base. Co‑founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian used the announcement to signal a shift in the company's creative direction. "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," they said.
The duo highlighted that more than 25 million players have experienced their games over the past decade, and many of those interactions have turned into lasting friendships. While the public statement did not provide specifics about current staffing levels, it is clear that 1047 Games has already undergone several rounds of layoffs, the most recent occurring in July, just weeks after Empulse's launch. Whether the latest announcement will trigger additional cuts remains uncertain.
The move to peer‑to‑peer hosting is a pragmatic solution for games whose player counts have dwindled below the threshold needed to justify dedicated server costs. P2P allows the community to keep the titles alive without the studio having to shoulder the financial burden of server farms.
However, it also introduces new challenges, such as increased reliance on host stability, potential latency issues, and a greater need for players to manage their own networking settings. For fans of Empulse, the final map and price drop serve as a modest farewell gift, giving them an incentive to explore the game one last time before the official server infrastructure disappears. Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, already accustomed to P2P after its earlier transition, will continue to function via its server browser, preserving the core gameplay loop albeit without the convenience of centralized matchmaking. Looking ahead, 1047 Games' leadership hinted that future projects may diverge significantly from the live‑service shooter formula that defined the studio's identity.
The co‑founders emphasized that the lessons learned over ten years will inform whatever comes next, suggesting a possible exploration of new genres, business models, or platforms. In summary, 1047 Games is winding down active development on Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, shifting both titles to peer‑to‑peer hosting as of September 3. The decision reflects financial realities and a strategic desire to move away from the live‑service shooter niche that has dominated the studio's portfolio for a decade. While the community will lose dedicated servers, the games will remain playable, and the company signals that its next chapter may look very different from what fans have come to expect.