1047 Games announced 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 strategic 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 expenses associated with maintaining dedicated server infrastructure. While the studio had continued to subsidise those costs in hopes that the titles might eventually become self‑sustaining, it has now reached a point where that approach 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 economics no longer work in our favour." Effective September 3, the dedicated servers and the associated matchmaking services for Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded will be shut down. Players will still be able to enjoy the games, but they will have to rely on a P2P system that uses a server browser to locate and join matches hosted by other players. As part of what the studio calls the "final update" for Empulse, the team will also release one last new map and apply a price reduction across all regions.
This is not the first time 1047 Games has moved a title from a centralised server model to P2P. The original Splitgate made the same transition last year after its dedicated servers were taken offline. The game remains fully playable on PC and consoles, albeit with a community‑driven matchmaking system.
Splitgate 2, which launched in June 2025, quickly became embroiled in controversy. The launch package featured a "Make FPS Great Again" hat reminiscent of political slogans, as well as a $145 cosmetic bundle that sparked backlash among players.
Within a month of release, the studio announced a round of layoffs, the size of which was not disclosed. A further month later, the game was rolled back to beta status and a second wave of staff reductions was announced.
Empulse, positioned as a 6‑v‑6 movement‑focused shooter and described by the developers as a spiritual successor to Titanfall, entered early access in June 2026. The title's debut was followed by several rounds of layoffs within weeks, reflecting the broader financial pressures the company has been facing.
Co‑founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian used the announcement to signal a broader shift in the company's direction. "We started 1047 Games ten years ago because we love video games," they 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 statement did not provide specifics about the current staffing levels, but the company has already undergone multiple layoff cycles, the most recent occurring in July, shortly after Empulse's launch. It remains unclear whether the latest announcement will trigger additional reductions.
Industry observers see the move as part of a larger trend where mid‑size developers reassess the viability of live‑service models that require continuous server upkeep and regular content drops. Maintaining dedicated servers can be a costly endeavour, especially when player counts plateau or decline.
By shifting to a P2P architecture, studios can drastically cut operational expenses, though they often sacrifice some of the polish and stability that centrally hosted matchmaking provides. For players, the transition means that matchmaking will become more reliant on the host's connection quality, and issues such as latency, host migration, and potential cheating may become more prevalent. However, the community‑driven approach also offers a degree of resilience; as long as there are enough active players willing to host games, the titles can remain playable without the need for expensive server farms.
Looking ahead, 1047 Games has hinted that its next project could diverge significantly from the fast‑paced, competitive shooter genre that defined its brand for the past ten years. While details are scarce, the founders emphasized that the core passion for game creation remains unchanged, suggesting that future releases may explore new mechanics, narratives, or even entirely different genres. In summary, 1047 Games is winding down active development on Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, moving both to peer‑to‑peer hosting as of September 3, providing a final map and price cut for Empulse, and signalling a strategic shift away from live‑service shooters after a decade of operation.
The company's future direction remains to be seen, but the leadership assures fans that the love of making games endures, even as the studio explores uncharted territory.