1047 Games announced that it will stop 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 shooters. In a brief statement posted to X earlier today, the developers explained that the revenue generated by the two games no longer covers the expense of maintaining dedicated server infrastructure.
While the company had continued to subsidize those costs in the hope that the titles would eventually become self‑sustaining, it now acknowledges that this approach has become "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, expressing genuine regret at having to scale back its support. 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 complemented by a server browser, allowing them to host their own matches and discover others’ sessions. As part of what the company calls the "final update" for Empulse, the game will receive one last new map and a price reduction across all regions.
This is not the first time 1047 Games has migrated a title to peer‑to‑peer hosting. The original Splitgate made the same transition last year after its dedicated servers were retired, and the game remains fully playable on PC and consoles under the new model.
Splitgate 2, which launched in June 2025, quickly became a lightning rod for controversy. The title featured 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 studio announced an undisclosed round of layoffs, and a further reduction in staff followed a month later when the game was reverted to a beta state, prompting a second wave of cuts.
Empulse, billed as a 6‑v‑6 movement shooter and spiritual successor to Titanfall, entered early access in June 2026. Its launch was followed by several rounds of layoffs within weeks, underscoring the financial pressures the studio was already feeling.
Co‑founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian said the company’s direction is evolving after ten years of building live‑service shooters. They emphasized that the next project could look dramatically different from anything the studio has produced before, but reiterated that the core motivation—creating games they love—remains unchanged.
"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 specifics about the current staffing situation, though the studio has already undergone multiple layoff rounds, the most recent occurring in July, shortly after Empulse's launch. It remains uncertain whether the latest shift away from live‑service titles will trigger additional reductions. For players, the transition to peer‑to‑peer means that matchmaking will no longer be centralized. Instead, users will need to rely on the in‑game server browser to locate matches hosted by other players.
This model can introduce higher latency for some participants, especially those with less robust internet connections, but it also eliminates the recurring cost of server maintenance for the developer. Empulse's final update, which includes a new map and a universal price cut, appears to be an attempt to give the community a parting gift and to encourage continued play despite the loss of official matchmaking.
The developers hope that the community will embrace the P2P system and keep the game alive through player‑hosted sessions. The broader industry trend shows a growing number of mid‑size studios reassessing the viability of live‑service models, especially when the cost of dedicated servers outweighs revenue from microtransactions, cosmetics, or battle passes.
1047 Games' decision reflects this reality and may signal a shift toward more traditional, self‑contained multiplayer experiences for the studio's future projects. While the future direction of 1047 Games remains unclear, the founders' statements suggest a willingness to explore new genres or gameplay styles that diverge from the fast‑paced, server‑heavy shooters that defined their first decade. Fans of the studio will be watching closely to see what comes next, hoping that the lessons learned from Empulse and Splitgate will inform a fresh, sustainable approach to game development.