1047 Games has 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 model. The decision marks a significant 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 neither Empulse nor Splitgate: Arena Reloaded has been able to generate sufficient revenue to offset the ongoing expenses associated with maintaining dedicated server infrastructure. While the studio had previously absorbed those costs in an effort to give the games a chance to grow their player bases, it now acknowledges that continuing to fund the servers is "no longer sustainable." "We have loved working on these games, playing them, and building them with this community, and we wish we could continue supporting them," the announcement read, underscoring the emotional connection the team feels toward its audience despite the financial realities.
Effective September 3, the dedicated servers for both titles will be decommissioned. Matchmaking will be disabled, and the games will rely on a P2P system complemented by a server browser that allows players to host their own matches and discover others' sessions. This transition ensures that the core gameplay experience remains accessible, even though the underlying network architecture will change. As part of what the studio has termed the "final update" for Empulse, the team will release one last new map and apply a price reduction across all regions.
This gesture is intended to give existing players a final burst of content and to make the game more attractive to newcomers who may be curious about the title now that it no longer requires a subscription‑style server fee. The shift to peer‑to‑peer hosting is not unprecedented for 1047 Games.
The original Splitgate made a similar transition last year after its dedicated servers were shut down, and the game continues to be playable on PC and console via a P2P network. That earlier move demonstrated that the studio can keep a title alive without the expense of centralized servers, albeit with some trade‑offs in latency and matchmaking convenience.
Splitgate 2, released in June 2025, quickly became a lightning rod for controversy. The launch featured a politically charged "Make FPS Great Again" hat and a $145 cosmetic bundle that sparked heated debate within the gaming community. Within a month of release, the studio announced a round of layoffs, the size of which was not disclosed.
A further month later, the company rolled the title back into a beta state and initiated a second wave of staff reductions, indicating that the project was struggling both financially and operationally. Empulse, billed as a 6‑v‑6 movement shooter and a spiritual successor to Titanfall, entered early access in June 2026. The title generated a modest amount of buzz, but the excitement was quickly dampened by multiple rounds of layoffs that followed within weeks of its launch.
The rapid staffing cuts suggest that the game’s revenue trajectory failed to meet the studio’s expectations, prompting a reassessment of its long‑term viability. 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 wrote. The founders highlighted that more than 25 million players have engaged with their games over the past decade, and many of those interactions have forged lasting friendships. The statement did not provide specifics about future staffing levels, though it is worth noting that the studio has already undergone several layoff cycles, the most recent occurring in July, just weeks after Empulse’s early‑access debut.
Whether the September announcement will precipitate additional reductions remains unclear. Looking ahead, 1047 Games appears poised to explore new genres or business models that diverge from the live‑service shooter formula that defined its early years. The shift away from dedicated servers could free up resources for experimentation with single‑player experiences, narrative‑driven projects, or alternative multiplayer structures that do not rely on costly server upkeep. By embracing a more flexible development approach, the studio may aim to mitigate financial risk while still delivering engaging gameplay.
In summary, the cessation of active development on Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, coupled with the migration to peer‑to‑peer hosting, signals the end of an era for 1047 Games. The company’s leadership has framed the move as a necessary response to unsustainable server costs and a catalyst for a broader strategic realignment. While the future direction of the studio remains to be seen, the founders reaffirmed their commitment to game creation and hinted that upcoming projects could surprise both longtime fans and industry observers alike.