1047 Games announced that it will cease active development on its two flagship titles, Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, and will move both projects to a peer‑to‑peer (P2P) networking model as of September 3. This 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 to X earlier today, the developers explained that the revenue generated by the two games no longer covers the ongoing expense of maintaining dedicated server infrastructure. While the company had previously absorbed those costs in an effort to give the titles a chance to grow their player bases, it now acknowledges that continuing to fund the servers 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, underscoring the emotional connection the team feels toward its audience despite the harsh financial realities. Effective September 3, the dedicated servers and the associated matchmaking services for Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded will be shut down.
Players will instead rely on a P2P architecture that utilizes a server browser, allowing individuals to host matches themselves and discover other hosts. To give the community a proper send‑off, Empulse will receive one final map addition and a universal price reduction across all regions, which the studio has dubbed the game's "final update." This move mirrors what 1047 Games did with the original Splitgate last year. After the dedicated servers for that title were taken offline, the game transitioned to P2P hosting and remains fully playable today, including on console platforms. The precedent suggests that the studio believes a community‑driven hosting model can keep a game alive even when official server support ends.
Splitgate 2, released in June 2025, quickly became a lightning rod for controversy. The launch featured a politically charged "Make FPS Great Again" hat and a $145 cosmetic bundle that sparked backlash across the gaming community. Within a month of release, the company announced an undisclosed round of layoffs, followed shortly thereafter by a decision to roll the title back into beta and a second wave of staff reductions.
The turbulence surrounding Splitgate 2 highlighted the challenges of sustaining a live‑service shooter in a competitive market. Empulse, positioned as a 6‑v‑6 movement‑focused shooter and often described as a spiritual successor to Titanfall, entered early access in June 2026. Its debut was followed by multiple rounds of layoffs within weeks, indicating that the studio was already feeling pressure to trim costs even before the recent announcement. The game's early‑access phase was intended to build a dedicated community, but the financial strain proved too great to maintain dedicated server support.
Co‑founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian used the announcement to signal a shift in the studio's creative direction. After ten years of concentrating on live‑service shooters, they said the company's focus is "changing" and that future projects may look very different from what fans have come to expect from 1047 Games. "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 details about the current staffing situation, though it is known that 1047 Games has undergone several layoff rounds, the most recent occurring in July, just weeks after Empulse launched.
It remains uncertain whether the latest shift to P2P hosting will trigger additional reductions or if the studio will stabilize its workforce as it re‑examines its long‑term product strategy. Industry observers note that the move away from dedicated servers is a pragmatic response to the economics of multiplayer shooters.
Maintaining high‑performance, low‑latency servers for a global player base is costly, and if a game's active user count falls below a certain threshold, the expense can quickly outweigh any revenue generated from sales, microtransactions, or cosmetic bundles. By handing hosting responsibilities over to players, developers can keep the game accessible without incurring the same operational overhead. However, the transition to peer‑to‑peer can also introduce challenges, such as increased latency, reliance on host stability, and potential security concerns.
To mitigate these issues, 1047 Games plans to implement a server browser that will help players locate reliable hosts and provide tools for reporting problematic connections. While this solution may not match the polish of a dedicated server environment, it offers a viable path for the community to continue enjoying the games.
In summary, 1047 Games is winding down active development on Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, shifting both titles to a peer‑to‑peer model as of September 3. The studio cites unsustainable server costs as the primary driver and frames the change as part of a larger strategic realignment away from live‑service shooters. The co‑founders emphasize a continued passion for game creation and hint at future projects that could diverge significantly from their current portfolio. The long‑term impact on the player base and the company's staffing remains to be seen, but the move underscores the financial realities facing mid‑size developers in the competitive multiplayer shooter market.