1047 Games has announced that it will cease active development on both Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, moving the two titles 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 concentrating on live‑service shooter experiences.
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 associated with 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 this approach 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 emotional attachment the developers feel toward their creations and the players who have supported them. Effective September 3, the dedicated servers and the associated matchmaking services for Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded will be shut down. Players will instead rely on a P2P system that incorporates a server browser, allowing anyone to host a match and others to join.
To give the community a proper farewell, Empulse will receive a final map addition and a price reduction across all regions as part of what the studio has termed the "final update" for the game. This transition mirrors a similar move the studio made with the original Splitgate last year.
After its dedicated servers were retired, Splitgate shifted to P2P hosting and remains fully playable today on both PC and console platforms. Splitgate 2, released in June 2025, quickly became a flashpoint for controversy. The launch featured a politically charged "Make FPS Great Again" hat and a $145 cosmetic bundle that sparked heated debate among players and commentators.
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 placed the game back into a beta state and initiated a second wave of staff reductions, signaling deeper financial and strategic challenges. Empulse, positioned as a 6‑vs‑6 movement shooter and marketed as a spiritual successor to Titanfall, entered early access in June 2026. The title’s launch was followed by several rounds of layoffs within weeks, reflecting the same fiscal pressures that have plagued its sister project.
Founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian used the announcement to outline a broader shift in the company’s direction. After ten years of building live‑service shooters, they said the studio’s focus is now "changing," and that 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 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 public statement did not provide specifics about the current staffing situation, although the company has already undergone multiple layoff rounds, the most recent occurring in July, just weeks after Empulse’s early‑access debut. It remains uncertain whether the latest announcement will precipitate additional reductions.
The shift away from dedicated servers is significant for the player community. Dedicated servers traditionally offer more stable connections, reduced latency, and a level of fairness enforced by the studio. By moving to a P2P model, the onus of hosting shifts to individual players, which can introduce variability in performance based on host hardware, internet quality, and geographic location.
The inclusion of a server browser aims to mitigate these issues by allowing players to select hosts with favorable ping and reputation, but the experience will inevitably differ from the managed environment they were accustomed to. From a business perspective, the decision underscores the growing difficulty of sustaining live‑service models for mid‑tier shooters in a market dominated by large publishers with deep pockets. Maintaining dedicated servers is a recurring expense that must be justified by a steady stream of microtransactions, season passes, or other monetisation mechanisms. When those revenue streams falter, studios are forced to either find alternative funding models or cut costs dramatically.
For fans of Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, the transition offers a bittersweet opportunity. While the games will continue to be playable, the loss of official matchmaking may reduce the ease with which new players can find matches, potentially impacting community growth. However, the final map update for Empulse and the price drop provide a small consolation, giving existing players a fresh experience and a more affordable entry point.
Looking ahead, 1047 Games has hinted that its next venture could diverge from the shooter genre entirely. The founders' emphasis on "what we build next may look very different" suggests the studio might explore new IPs, perhaps in narrative‑driven experiences, indie‑style projects, or even non‑gaming interactive media. Their statement that the core motivation—love for game development—remains unchanged, indicates that while the business model may evolve, the creative passion driving the team endures. 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 move reflects broader financial pressures and a strategic decision to move away from the live‑service shooter model that defined the studio for a decade. While the community will lose dedicated server support, the games will remain accessible, and the studio promises a final content update for Empulse along with a price reduction.
The founders signal that future projects will likely depart from the shooter formula, marking the end of an era for 1047 Games and the beginning of an uncertain but potentially exciting new chapter.