1047 Games announced that it will cease active development on its two flagship titles, Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, and will move both experiences to a peer‑to‑peer (P2P) hosting model. The decision marks a clear pivot for the studio after a decade of focusing on live‑service first‑person shooters.
In a brief statement posted to X earlier today, the developers explained that the revenue generated by the two games no longer justifies the ongoing expense of maintaining dedicated server infrastructure. While the company had continued to subsidise server costs in the hope that the communities would eventually grow to a sustainable size, 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 studio wrote.
"Unfortunately, the economics no longer work for us." Effective September 3, the dedicated servers and official matchmaking services for Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded will be shut down. Players will still be able to enjoy the games, but they will need to rely on a P2P system that uses a built‑in server browser to locate and join matches hosted by other players.
As part of the final update, Empulse will receive one last new map and a universal price reduction across all regions, a gesture the company described as a farewell to its remaining fan base. This move mirrors what 1047 Games did with the original Splitgate last year. After its dedicated servers were taken offline, the title was converted to a P2P architecture and remains fully playable on PC and consoles.
The transition proved that the games could survive without centralised servers, albeit with a reliance on player‑hosted sessions. The background to this shift is a turbulent period for the studio.
Splitgate 2 launched in June 2025 amid a wave of controversy, including the release of a politically charged "Make FPS Great Again" hat and a $145 cosmetic bundle that sparked criticism from the community. Within weeks of launch, 1047 Games announced an undisclosed round of layoffs, and a month later the title was pushed back into a beta state, prompting a second wave of staff reductions. Empulse, marketed as a 6‑v‑6 movement shooter and often described as a spiritual successor to Titanfall, entered early access in June 2026.
The game’s debut was quickly followed by multiple rounds of layoffs, indicating that the studio’s financial pressures were not limited to a single project. Co‑founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian used the announcement to signal a broader strategic change. "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 pair highlighted that more than 25 million players have engaged with their titles over the past decade, and many of those relationships have turned into lasting friendships. While the statement did not provide specific details about future staffing levels, it is worth noting that the company has already undergone several layoff cycles, the most recent occurring in July, shortly after Empulse’s launch. Whether the latest announcement will trigger additional reductions remains uncertain.
The transition to peer‑to‑peer hosting will have practical implications for the player community. Without dedicated servers, match latency will depend heavily on the quality of the host’s internet connection, and players may experience a higher incidence of connection drops or host‑related cheating attempts. To mitigate these issues, 1047 Games plans to implement a robust server‑browser system that allows users to filter matches based on ping, region, and player reputation.
Additionally, the final update will include minor stability patches aimed at improving the P2P experience. From a broader industry perspective, 1047 Games’ decision reflects a growing awareness among mid‑size developers that the live‑service model, while potentially lucrative, also carries significant ongoing costs and operational risks.
Maintaining dedicated server farms, providing regular content updates, and supporting a large player base require a steady revenue stream that can be difficult to sustain without a blockbuster hit. Looking ahead, the studio has hinted that its next project could diverge sharply from the fast‑paced, competitive shooter formula that defined its previous releases. Although no concrete details have been revealed, the founders emphasized that the lessons learned from a decade of live‑service development will inform whatever they choose to build next.
They reaffirmed their commitment to creating enjoyable experiences for gamers, even if the genre or delivery model changes. In summary, 1047 Games is winding down active development on Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, moving both titles to a peer‑to‑peer hosting framework as of September 3. The shift follows a period of financial strain, community controversy, and multiple layoffs. While the future staffing situation remains unclear, the founders have signaled a strategic pivot away from live‑service shooters toward new, as‑yet‑undefined ventures, promising to carry forward the passion and expertise that have defined the studio for the past ten years.