1047 Games has announced that it will stop active development on its two flagship projects, Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded. The studio also revealed that, as of September 3, both games will move from dedicated server infrastructure to a peer‑to‑peer (P2P) networking model, reflecting a broader strategic pivot away from the live‑service shooter model that has defined the company for the past decade. In a brief statement posted on X earlier today, the developers explained that the revenue generated by the two titles no longer covers the ongoing expenses associated with maintaining dedicated servers and matchmaking services. While the company had continued to subsidize those costs in an effort to give the games a chance to grow their player bases, the management team concluded that this approach 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 post read, underscoring the emotional attachment the team feels toward its creations and their fans. Effective September 3, the dedicated server back‑ends for Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded will be deactivated. Players will instead rely on a P2P system that uses a server browser to locate and join matches hosted by other community members.
This change is intended to keep the games playable even without the studio’s financial backing for server maintenance. As a parting gesture, Empulse will receive one final map addition and a price reduction across all regions, which the studio labeled the "final update" for the title.
The decision mirrors a similar transition that 1047 Games made with the original Splitgate last year. After its dedicated servers were shut down, the original Splitgate shifted to P2P hosting and remains accessible on PC and console platforms. That precedent likely informed the current plan, providing a proven pathway for keeping legacy titles alive without incurring prohibitive server costs. Splitgate 2, released in June 2025, quickly became a flashpoint of controversy.
The launch featured a politically charged "Make FPS Great Again" hat and a high‑priced $145 cosmetic bundle, sparking backlash from portions of the community. Within weeks, the studio announced a round of layoffs whose exact numbers were not disclosed. A month later, the game was rolled back to a beta state, and a second wave of staff reductions followed. These events highlighted the volatility of the live‑service market and the challenges of sustaining a shooter that depends heavily on continuous content updates and microtransactions.
Empulse, marketed as a 6‑v‑6 movement‑focused shooter and often described as a spiritual successor to Titanfall, entered early access in June 2026. The title’s launch was followed by multiple layoffs within a short span, indicating that the financial pressures were not limited to Splitgate alone. Despite its ambitious design and the enthusiasm of a niche community, Empulse struggled to attract a large enough player base to justify the ongoing costs of dedicated server infrastructure.
Co‑founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian used the announcement to signal a shift in the company’s creative direction. After ten years of building live‑service shooters, they said the studio’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," 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 situation, though it is known that 1047 Games has already undergone several rounds of layoffs, the most recent occurring in July, shortly after Empulse’s launch.
It remains uncertain whether the latest announcement will precipitate additional reductions or if the company will stabilize its workforce as it re‑evaluates its development pipeline. Industry analysts view the move as a cautionary tale about the sustainability of the live‑service model, especially for mid‑size studios that lack the deep pockets of larger publishers. While dedicated servers offer smoother matchmaking and better cheat prevention, they also entail significant ongoing costs that must be offset by a steady stream of revenue from purchases, subscriptions, or microtransactions. When player numbers plateau or decline, those costs can quickly outpace income, forcing studios to either find alternative funding models or, as in this case, transition to P2P solutions that shift the hosting burden to the community.
For players, the shift to peer‑to‑peer hosting means a few practical changes. Matchmaking times may become longer or more variable, depending on the number of active hosts in a given region. Additionally, the reliance on player‑run servers can introduce a higher risk of latency issues or cheating, as the studio will have less direct control over the network environment.
However, the inclusion of a server browser gives users the ability to select hosts with lower ping or higher reputation, mitigating some of these concerns. In summary, 1047 Games is winding down active development on Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, moving both titles to a community‑driven hosting model to keep them playable without the expense of dedicated servers. The decision reflects a larger strategic reorientation away from the live‑service shooter genre that has dominated the studio’s output for a decade. While the future direction of 1047 Games remains uncertain, the founders have emphasized that their passion for game creation endures, and the lessons learned from these two projects will inform whatever comes next.