1047 Games has announced that it will stop active development on its two flagship titles, Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded. The decision comes as part of a larger strategic pivot away from the live‑service shooter model that the studio has pursued for the past decade. Effective September 3, both games will abandon their dedicated‑server infrastructure and move to a peer‑to‑peer (P2P) networking system, allowing players to host matches themselves via a built‑in server browser. In a brief statement posted to X earlier today, the company explained that the revenue generated by the two titles no longer covers the ongoing expenses associated with maintaining dedicated servers.
While 1047 Games had continued to subsidise those costs in hopes that the games would eventually achieve a sustainable player base, the studio concluded that the financial model had become 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. From the 3rd of September onward, the matchmaking services that rely on centrally hosted servers will be decommissioned.
Players will instead be able to locate and join games through a server browser that lists active P2P hosts. This shift ensures that the communities can still enjoy multiplayer sessions, albeit with a different technical foundation.
As a part of what the studio has dubbed the "final update" for Empulse, the game will receive one last new map and a universal price reduction across all regions, giving existing players a modest farewell bonus. The transition mirrors a similar move made with the original Splitgate title, which also migrated to P2P hosting after its dedicated servers were shut down last year.
That version of Splitgate remains fully functional today, even on console platforms, demonstrating that a community can continue to thrive without the backing of a proprietary server network. Splitgate 2, released in June 2025, quickly became a flashpoint of controversy. The launch was accompanied by a "Make FPS Great Again" hat—a clear nod to political branding—and a high‑priced $145 cosmetic bundle that sparked criticism from both players and industry observers.
Within a month of its debut, 1047 Games announced a round of layoffs, the size of which was not disclosed. The following month the studio pushed the title back into a beta state and initiated a second wave of staff reductions, further destabilising the project.
Empulse, marketed as a 6‑v‑6 movement shooter and described by the developers as a spiritual successor to Titanfall, entered early access in June 2026. The title generated initial excitement due to its fast‑paced parkour mechanics and high‑skill gunplay, but it too suffered from rapid personnel cuts. Multiple layoff rounds were announced within weeks of its early‑access launch, reflecting the broader financial pressures the studio faced. Co‑founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian used the announcement to outline the company’s new direction.
After ten years of concentrating on live‑service shooters, they said the studio’s focus is "changing" and that future projects may look very different from anything fans have come to expect from 1047 Games. "We started 1047 Games ten years ago because we love video games," the founders 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 press release did not provide specifics about current staffing levels, although it is known that the studio has already undergone several rounds of layoffs, the most recent occurring in July—just weeks after Empulse launched.
It remains uncertain whether the latest announcement will trigger additional reductions. Industry analysts view the shift toward peer‑to‑peer hosting as a cost‑saving measure that many mid‑size studios adopt when player numbers plateau. While P2P can introduce challenges such as increased latency or reliance on host stability, it eliminates the recurring expense of renting or maintaining dedicated server farms. For players, the change means they will need to be more proactive in finding suitable hosts, but it also offers greater flexibility in customizing match settings.
Looking ahead, 1047 Games appears poised to explore new genres or business models that diverge from the subscription‑heavy, constantly updated live‑service framework. Whether the studio will return to single‑player experiences, adopt a battle‑royale‑style free‑to‑play approach, or experiment with entirely new IPs remains to be seen.
The founders’ emphasis on "loving games" and leveraging the lessons learned over a decade suggests a willingness to innovate, even if the path forward is uncertain. In summary, the cessation of active development on Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded marks the end of an era for 1047 Games.
By transitioning both titles to peer‑to‑peer networking, the studio aims to keep the communities alive while cutting unsustainable costs. The broader strategic shift away from live‑service shooters signals a potential re‑imagining of the company’s creative output, and fans will be watching closely to see what new directions emerge from the studio’s next chapter.