1047 Games has announced that it will cease active development on its two flagship titles, Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded. The decision comes as part of a broader strategic pivot away from the live‑service shooter model that the studio has pursued for the past decade.
Effective September 3, both games will abandon their dedicated‑server infrastructure and move to a peer‑to‑peer (P2P) networking model, allowing players to host matches themselves via an in‑game server browser. In a brief statement posted on X earlier today, the studio explained that the revenue generated by the two titles no longer covers the ongoing expenses associated with maintaining dedicated servers.
While the company had previously subsidised those costs in an effort to give the games a chance to grow their player bases, it ultimately concluded that continuing to do so was "no longer sustainable." The announcement was tempered with a note of appreciation: "We have loved working on these games, playing them, and building them with this community, and we wish we could continue supporting them," the developers wrote. The transition to P2P will be accompanied by a final update for Empulse. This patch will introduce one last new map and will also feature a price reduction across all regions, which the studio described as the game's concluding update. After the September 3 cutoff, dedicated matchmaking services will be disabled, but the new server‑browser system will let players find and join matches hosted by other community members, ensuring that both titles remain playable despite the loss of official server support.
This is not the first time 1047 Games has moved a title to peer‑to‑peer hosting. The original Splitgate made the same switch last year after its dedicated servers were shut down, and the game continues to be accessible on PC and console platforms. The shift to P2P is a cost‑saving measure that allows the studio to keep the games alive without the financial burden of running centralized server farms.
The background to this decision is marked by a turbulent period for the company. Splitgate 2 launched in June 2025 amid a wave of controversy, including the release of a politically charged "Make FPS Great Again" hat and a high‑priced $145 cosmetic bundle that sparked backlash within the community.
Within a month of launch, 1047 Games announced a round of layoffs, the exact number of affected employees 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 ongoing financial and operational challenges. Empulse, billed as a 6‑vs‑6 movement shooter and positioned as a spiritual successor to the beloved Titanfall series, entered early access in June 2026. The title’s launch was quickly followed by multiple rounds of layoffs, underscoring the difficulty the studio faced in sustaining two ambitious live‑service projects simultaneously.
Founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian addressed the shift in direction in the same X post. They emphasized that after ten years of focusing on live‑service shooters, the studio’s priorities are evolving. "What we build next may look very different from what people expect from 1047 Games," they said, adding that their core motivation—creating games they love—remains unchanged.
The co‑founders reflected on the company’s history, noting that more than 25 million players have experienced their games and that many community members have become lifelong friends. While the announcement did not provide explicit details about the current staffing situation, it follows a pattern of recent reductions. The most recent layoffs occurred in July, just weeks after Empulse’s early‑access debut. It remains uncertain whether the September shift to peer‑to‑peer hosting will trigger additional personnel cuts, but the language of the statement suggests a continued re‑evaluation of resource allocation.
The move to peer‑to‑peer hosting carries both benefits and drawbacks for the player community. On the positive side, it eliminates the need for costly server maintenance, potentially extending the lifespan of the games for dedicated fans. Players will have more control over match settings and can organize private sessions more easily. However, P2P networking can introduce issues such as increased latency, reliance on host stability, and potential exposure to cheating if anti‑cheat measures are not robustly implemented.
For developers, the transition represents a pragmatic response to market realities. Maintaining dedicated servers for games with dwindling active user bases can become a financial sinkhole, especially when revenue streams from microtransactions, cosmetics, or battle passes fail to keep pace with operational costs. By shifting to a community‑hosted model, 1047 Games can allocate its limited resources toward new projects or experimental ventures that may better align with evolving player preferences. Looking ahead, the studio hinted that its next undertaking could diverge significantly from the live‑service shooter formula that defined its brand.
The founders’ remarks suggest an openness to exploring new genres, platforms, or business models, perhaps leveraging the lessons learned from the Empulse and Splitgate experiences. Whether this will involve a return to single‑player narratives, a focus on smaller‑scale multiplayer experiences, or an entirely different type of interactive entertainment remains to be seen. In summary, 1047 Games is winding down active development on Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, moving both titles to peer‑to‑peer hosting as of September 3. The decision reflects financial pressures, a strategic shift away from live‑service shooters, and an acknowledgement that the revenue generated by the games cannot sustain dedicated server costs.
While the community will still be able to play the games via a new server‑browser system, the studio’s future direction appears poised for change, with the founders promising that their passion for game creation will continue to drive whatever comes next.