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 shooter experiences.
In a brief statement posted to X earlier today, the developers explained that the revenue generated by the two titles no longer covers the expense of maintaining dedicated server infrastructure. While the company had continued to subsidize those costs in an effort to give the games a chance to grow their player bases, it ultimately concluded that the model had 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 studio wrote.
"Unfortunately, the economics no longer work in our favor." 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 that includes a server browser, allowing them to host their own matches and locate others who are doing the same. To give the community a parting gift, Empulse will receive a final new map and a universal price reduction across all regions as part of what 1047 Games has labeled the "final update" for the title. This transition mirrors a similar move made with the original Splitgate earlier last year.
After its dedicated servers were retired, the game shifted to P2P hosting and remains fully playable today, even on console platforms. Splitgate 2, which launched in June 2025, quickly became embroiled in controversy. The launch featured a polarising "Make FPS Great Again" hat and a $145 cosmetic bundle that sparked backlash within the gaming community.
Within a month of release, 1047 Games announced a wave of layoffs, the size of which was not disclosed. A further month later, the company placed the title back into beta and initiated a second round of staff reductions, underscoring the turbulent period the studio was experiencing. Empulse, marketed as a 6‑v‑6 movement shooter and positioned 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 studio was facing.
Co‑founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian used the announcement to signal a shift in the studio’s creative direction. After ten years spent building live‑service shooters, they said the company’s focus is now "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," 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 statement did not provide specifics about current staffing levels, although the studio has already undergone multiple rounds of layoffs, the most recent occurring in July, just weeks after Empulse launched. It remains uncertain whether the latest announcement will precipitate additional reductions. Industry observers note that the move away from dedicated servers is part of a broader trend among mid‑size developers who find the ongoing costs of server maintenance increasingly burdensome, especially when player counts plateau or decline.
Peer‑to‑peer hosting reduces operational expenses but can introduce challenges such as increased latency, reliance on host players' hardware, and potential security concerns. Nevertheless, for games with smaller, dedicated communities, the trade‑off can be acceptable, allowing titles to stay playable without the overhead of a commercial server fleet.
Fans of Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded have expressed mixed reactions. Some appreciate the studio’s transparency and the effort to keep the games alive in any form, while others worry that the shift to P2P will degrade the matchmaking experience they have come to expect.
The final map and price cut for Empulse have been welcomed as a goodwill gesture, offering a tangible token of appreciation before the games transition to their new hosting model. Looking ahead, 1047 Games has hinted that its next venture could explore genres or business models outside the live‑service shooter space. Whether that means a single‑player narrative experience, a different type of multiplayer format, or even a non‑gaming product remains to be seen. The company’s history of innovation—most notably the blend of portal mechanics with arena shooting in the original Splitgate—suggests that future projects may still carry the studio’s signature flair for inventive gameplay, even if the delivery method changes.
For now, the community can continue to enjoy Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded through peer‑to‑peer matches, and the studio’s leadership appears committed to applying the lessons learned over the past decade to whatever comes next. The transition underscores the realities of sustaining live‑service games in a competitive market and highlights the importance of adaptability for independent studios navigating shifting player expectations and financial constraints.