1047 Games announced today that it will cease active development on its two flagship titles, Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, and will move both games to a peer‑to‑peer (P2P) hosting model. The decision marks a significant strategic pivot for the studio after a decade of focusing on live‑service shooter experiences.
In a brief statement posted on X earlier this morning, the developers explained that neither Empulse nor Splitgate: Arena Reloaded was generating sufficient revenue to justify the continued expense of dedicated server infrastructure. While the company had previously subsidized server costs in an effort to give the titles a chance to grow their player bases, it now finds that doing so 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 studio wrote.
"Unfortunately, the financial realities force us to make a difficult choice." Effective September 3, the dedicated servers for both Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded will be shut down. Matchmaking will be replaced by a server‑browser system that relies on P2P connections, allowing players to host their own matches and locate opponents without the need for central servers. As part of what the company has termed the "final update" for Empulse, the game will receive one last new map and a price reduction across all regions. This move mirrors the approach taken with the original Splitgate, which also transitioned to P2P hosting after its dedicated servers were taken offline last year.
That version of Splitgate remains fully playable today on PC and console, demonstrating that a P2P model can keep a game alive even after official server support ends. 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 the release of a politically charged "Make FPS Great Again" hat and a high‑priced $145 cosmetic bundle.
Within weeks of launch, 1047 Games announced layoffs affecting an undisclosed number of staff members. A month later, the company pushed the title back into a beta state and initiated a second round of cuts, signaling ongoing financial strain. Empulse, marketed as a 6‑v‑6 movement shooter and positioned as a spiritual successor to the Titanfall franchise, entered early access in June 2026. The game’s rollout was quickly followed by multiple rounds of layoffs, underscoring the difficulty of sustaining two ambitious live‑service projects simultaneously.
Co‑founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian addressed the shift in a separate statement, noting that after ten years of building live‑service shooters, the studio’s focus is evolving. "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." The announcement did not provide specifics about the current staffing situation, though the company has already undergone several layoff waves, the most recent occurring in July, shortly after Empulse’s early‑access launch. It remains uncertain whether the latest development will trigger additional reductions.
Industry observers see this as part of a broader trend where smaller studios reassess the viability of live‑service models, which require substantial ongoing investment in server maintenance, content updates, and community management. By moving to P2P hosting, 1047 Games can reduce operational costs while still offering players a way to enjoy the games they love, albeit with potentially higher latency and reliance on player‑hosted sessions.
For the community, the transition means that players will need to adapt to a new matchmaking system. Instead of automatically being placed into games by centralized servers, they will browse available hosts, join friend‑hosted lobbies, or set up their own sessions.
While this can introduce challenges—such as increased susceptibility to host‑advantage or connection instability—it also empowers dedicated fans to keep the games alive through grassroots organization. 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 studio cites unsustainable server costs and a strategic pivot away from live‑service shooters after a decade of operation. The co‑founders emphasize a continued passion for game creation and hint at future projects that may diverge from their previous shooter‑centric portfolio.
The community will need to adjust to a new P2P matchmaking environment, and the industry will watch closely to see how this move influences other developers grappling with the high overhead of live‑service infrastructure.