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) networking model as of September 3. The decision is part of a broader strategic pivot away from the live‑service shooter model that the studio has pursued for the past decade. In a brief statement posted on X earlier today, the company explained that neither title is generating sufficient revenue to justify the ongoing expense of maintaining dedicated server infrastructure.
While the studio had continued to subsidize those costs in an effort to give the games a chance to grow their player bases, it ultimately concluded that the model was "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. The tone was one of genuine regret, underscoring the close relationship the developers have cultivated with their fans over the years. Effective September 3, the dedicated servers and official matchmaking services for both 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 their own matches and locate others who are doing the same. As a parting gesture, Empulse will receive a final map addition and a universal price reduction across all regions, which the studio labeled the "final update" for the game.
This is not the first time 1047 Games has transitioned a title to peer‑to‑peer hosting. The original Splitgate made the same shift last year after its dedicated servers were retired, and the game remains fully playable today on PC and console platforms. The background to these changes is rooted in a turbulent period for the studio. Splitgate 2 launched in June 2025 amid a wave of controversy, including a politically charged "Make FPS Great Again" hat and a $145 cosmetic bundle that sparked heated debate within the community.
Within a month of release, the company announced a round of layoffs, the size of which was not disclosed. A further month later, the title was pushed back into beta testing, accompanied by a second wave of staff reductions.
Empulse, marketed as a 6‑v‑6 movement 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 layoffs, indicating that the studio was already feeling financial pressure even before the recent announcement. Co‑founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian used the statement to signal a shift in the studio's creative direction after ten years of focusing on live‑service shooters.
"Our focus is changing," they wrote, adding that whatever the company builds next "may look very different" from the titles that have defined its brand to date. "We started 1047 Games ten years ago because we love video games," the founders 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." The announcement did not provide details 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 to P2P hosting will trigger additional reductions. Industry observers note that the move away from dedicated servers reflects a growing challenge for mid‑size studios attempting to sustain live‑service models without the deep pockets of larger publishers.
Maintaining server farms, continuous content pipelines, and competitive matchmaking can become financially untenable when player counts plateau or decline. By switching to a peer‑to‑peer architecture, 1047 Games reduces operational costs dramatically, transferring the hosting burden to the community while still offering a functional multiplayer experience. For players, the transition means that matchmaking will no longer be centrally managed. Instead, users will need to rely on the in‑game server browser to find matches hosted by other players.
This can lead to longer wait times in regions with fewer active hosts, but it also offers greater control over latency and game settings for those who choose to run their own servers. The final map for Empulse and the universal price cut are intended to give the community a pleasant send‑off, acknowledging the support the game has received despite its short lifespan. While the title will no longer receive new content or balance updates, the developers hope that the community will continue to enjoy the existing material through the new hosting model.
Overall, 1047 Games' decision marks the end of an era for the studio's live‑service shooter portfolio and opens the door to a potentially very different creative direction. Whether the next project will be a single‑player narrative experience, a smaller‑scale co‑op game, or something entirely unexpected remains to be seen, but the founders' statements suggest a willingness to explore new genres and design philosophies while staying true to their core passion for game development.