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) hosting architecture as of September 3. The decision marks a clear pivot for the studio after a decade of focusing on live‑service shooters, a genre that the company has pursued since its founding. In a brief statement posted on X earlier today, the developers explained that the revenue generated by the two games no longer justifies the expense of maintaining dedicated server infrastructure.
While the studio had continued to subsidise server costs in an effort to give the titles a chance to grow their player bases, it ultimately concluded that the model was "no longer sustainable" from a financial standpoint. "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 connection the team feels toward its audience despite the hard business decision. Effective September 3, the dedicated servers and official matchmaking services for Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded will be decommissioned.
Players will instead rely on a P2P system that uses a server browser, allowing individuals to host their own matches and locate others who are looking to play. To give the community a final boost, Empulse will receive one last map addition and a universal price reduction across all regions, which the studio described as the "final update" for that title. This move mirrors the studio’s earlier handling of the original Splitgate. After its dedicated servers were shut down last year, Splitgate transitioned to P2P hosting and remains fully playable on both PC and console platforms.
The transition demonstrated that the company can keep a game alive without the overhead of centralized servers, albeit with a reliance on player‑hosted sessions. Splitgate 2, released in June 2025, quickly became a source of controversy. The launch featured a politically charged "Make FPS Great Again" hat and a $145 cosmetic bundle that sparked backlash across the community. Within a month of release, 1047 Games announced a round of layoffs, the size of which was not disclosed.
A further month later, the studio pushed the title back into beta status and initiated a second wave of staff reductions, indicating ongoing turbulence in the project's development cycle. Empulse, positioned as a 6‑v‑6 movement shooter and often described as a spiritual successor to Titanfall, entered early access in June 2026. Its launch was followed by several rounds of layoffs within weeks, reflecting the broader challenges the studio faced in sustaining multiple live‑service projects simultaneously. Co‑founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian used the announcement to articulate a strategic shift for the company.
After ten years devoted to live‑service shooters, they said the studio’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 specifics about the current staffing levels, but it is worth noting that 1047 Games has already undergone multiple layoffs, the most recent occurring in July, just weeks after Empulse's early‑access debut. It remains uncertain whether the latest announcement will trigger additional reductions or if the company will stabilize its workforce as it re‑evaluates its development roadmap. Industry observers see this pivot as part of a broader trend where mid‑size studios, after investing heavily in live‑service infrastructures, reassess the viability of that model in a market increasingly dominated by large publishers with deep pockets.
By shifting to P2P hosting, 1047 Games reduces ongoing operational costs while still offering players a way to enjoy the games they love. However, the move also places greater responsibility on the community to host and maintain game sessions, which can affect matchmaking quality and overall player experience.
Looking ahead, the studio’s leadership hinted that future endeavors could explore genres or delivery models beyond the live‑service shooter paradigm. Whether that means a return to single‑player experiences, a focus on narrative‑driven titles, or experimentation with emerging technologies such as cloud gaming remains to be seen. What is clear is that 1047 Games intends to leverage the lessons learned over the past decade to inform its next chapter, aiming to balance creative ambition with sustainable business practices. For now, fans of Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded can continue to play, albeit with a new hosting setup and a final content push for Empulse.
The transition underscores the challenges of maintaining live‑service games without a steady revenue stream, while also highlighting the resilience of a community that can keep a title alive through peer‑to‑peer connections.