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) hosting model as of September 3. The decision marks a clear pivot for the studio, which has spent the last decade 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 previously absorbed those costs in an effort to give the titles a chance to grow their player bases, it now acknowledges that continuing to fund the servers is "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.
"Unfortunately, the financial realities force us to make a change." 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 includes a server browser, allowing them to host matches themselves and locate other players who are doing the same. As a parting gesture, Empulse will receive a final new map and a universal price reduction across all regions, which the studio described as the game's "final update." This move mirrors a similar transition that 1047 Games made with the original Splitgate last year.
After the shutdown of its dedicated servers, the original Splitgate shifted to a P2P architecture and remains fully playable on both PC and consoles. The pattern suggests that the studio is consolidating its resources and focusing on more cost‑effective delivery methods for its remaining titles. The background to this shift is noteworthy. Splitgate 2 launched in June 2025 amid a swirl of controversy, including the release of a "Make FPS Great Again" hat and a $145 cosmetic bundle that sparked backlash within the community.
Within a month of launch, the company announced a round of layoffs, and a further reduction followed a month later when the game was reverted to beta status, prompting a second wave of staff cuts. Empulse, marketed as a 6‑v‑6 movement shooter and spiritual successor to Titanfall, entered early access in June 2026. Its debut was quickly followed by several rounds of layoffs, underscoring the financial pressure the studio has been under.
Founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian used the announcement to signal a broader strategic realignment. "We started 1047 Games ten years ago because we love video games," they said. "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." While the statement does not directly address the current staffing situation, it follows a series of layoffs that have already taken place, the most recent of which occurred in July, just weeks after Empulse's early‑access launch. It remains uncertain whether the cessation of active development on these two titles will trigger additional reductions. The transition to peer‑to‑peer hosting carries both technical and community implications.
On the technical side, P2P reduces the studio's operational costs because it eliminates the need for expensive server farms and ongoing bandwidth fees. However, it can also introduce challenges such as increased latency, potential for host‑advantage cheating, and a reliance on players' own internet connections for stable gameplay.
To mitigate these issues, 1047 Games has implemented a server browser that lets users select hosts with favorable ping and stability metrics, aiming to preserve a decent multiplayer experience despite the shift. From a community perspective, the move may be bittersweet.
Long‑time fans who have invested time and money into the games may feel abandoned, yet the continued ability to play via P2P means the titles will not disappear entirely. The final map for Empulse and the price cut are gestures intended to soften the blow and reward the remaining player base. Industry analysts view this development as part of a larger trend where mid‑size studios reassess the viability of live‑service models, especially when revenue streams fail to keep pace with the high overhead of dedicated server maintenance.
The live‑service shooter market has become increasingly competitive, with major publishers offering massive budgets for server upkeep, frequent content updates, and aggressive monetization strategies. Smaller developers like 1047 Games often struggle to match that scale, leading to strategic pivots toward more sustainable models. Looking ahead, the founders hinted that the next project could diverge significantly from the studio's shooter‑centric legacy.
Whether that means exploring new genres, adopting a single‑player focus, or experimenting with emerging technologies such as cloud gaming remains to be seen. What is clear is that 1047 Games intends to leverage the lessons learned over a decade of live‑service development to inform its future endeavors.
In summary, 1047 Games is winding down active development on Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, transitioning both games to peer‑to‑peer hosting on September 3, and offering a final map and price reduction for Empulse. The decision reflects broader financial pressures and a strategic shift away from the costly live‑service shooter model that defined the studio for ten years. While the immediate impact on players and staff is mixed, the announcement signals a new chapter for the company, one that may see it venture into uncharted territory beyond the shooter genre.