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) networking model as of September 3. The decision marks a strategic pivot for the studio after a decade of focusing on live‑service, server‑based shooters. In a brief statement posted to X earlier today, the developers explained that the revenue generated by the two titles no longer justifies the expense of maintaining dedicated server infrastructure. While the company had continued to subsidize server costs in the hope that the games would eventually achieve a sustainable player base, it now acknowledges that this approach has become financially untenable.
"We have loved working on these games, playing them, and building them with this community, and we wish we could continue supporting them," the post read, underscoring the emotional attachment the team feels toward its audience despite the harsh economic reality. Effective September 3, the dedicated matchmaking services for Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded will be shut down. Players will instead rely on a P2P system that uses a server browser, allowing individuals to host their own matches and discover others’ sessions.
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 billed as the "final update" for the title. This transition mirrors a similar move made with the original Splitgate last year. After its dedicated servers were retired, that game also shifted to P2P hosting and remains fully playable on PC and consoles. The precedent suggests that 1047 Games hopes to keep the core experiences alive, even if the underlying technology changes.
The background to this shift is turbulent. Splitgate 2 launched in June 2025 amid a wave of controversy, including the introduction of a politically charged "Make FPS Great Again" hat and a $145 cosmetic bundle that sparked backlash from the community. Within weeks of the launch, the studio announced an undisclosed round of layoffs, and a month later the game was rolled back to beta status, prompting a second wave of staff reductions.
The rapid succession of events highlighted the difficulty of sustaining a high‑budget live‑service shooter in a competitive market. Empulse, positioned as a 6v6, high‑mobility shooter and often described as a spiritual successor to Titanfall, entered early access in June 2026. Its debut was quickly followed by multiple rounds of layoffs, reflecting similar financial pressures. Despite the hype surrounding its fast‑paced movement mechanics and futuristic aesthetic, the title struggled to attract a sufficient player base to cover the costs of its dedicated server network.
Co‑founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian used the announcement to signal a broader change in direction for the company. "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," they said. The founders emphasized that over the past decade more than 25 million players have experienced their games and that many of those interactions have turned into lasting friendships. The statement did not provide specifics about the current staffing situation, although the studio has already undergone several layoff cycles, the most recent occurring in July—just weeks after Empulse’s early‑access launch. It remains unclear whether the latest announcement will trigger additional reductions or if the company will stabilize its workforce as it re‑evaluates its development priorities.
Looking ahead, 1047 Games appears poised to explore new genres or business models that diverge from the costly live‑service shooter formula. The shift to P2P hosting reduces ongoing operational expenses, allowing the studio to allocate resources toward creative experimentation, smaller‑scale projects, or perhaps entirely different gameplay experiences. While fans of Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded may mourn the loss of dedicated server support, the move ensures that the games remain playable and that the community can continue to organize matches without the need for central servers. In summary, 1047 Games is winding down active development on its two shooter titles, transitioning them to peer‑to‑peer networking, and signaling a strategic departure from the live‑service shooter market that defined its identity for a decade.
The company’s leadership stresses a continued passion for game creation, hinting that future releases could depart significantly from the high‑intensity, server‑driven experiences that have characterized their portfolio to date.