1047 Games has announced that it will cease active development on its two flagship titles, Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded. The company also revealed that, as of September 3, both games will move from dedicated server infrastructure to a peer‑to‑peer (P2P) networking model, signaling a broader strategic pivot away from the live‑service shooter genre after a decade of focus. In a brief statement posted on X earlier today, the studio explained that the revenue generated by the two games no longer covers the ongoing expenses associated with maintaining dedicated servers. While the team had previously subsidised these costs in an effort to give the titles a chance to grow their player bases, the financial burden has become "no longer sustainable," according to the announcement.
"We have loved working on these games, playing them, and building them with this community, and we wish we could continue supporting them," the developers wrote, expressing genuine disappointment at having to scale back support. Effective September 3, the dedicated‑server back‑ends and the associated matchmaking services for Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded will be shut down. Players will instead rely on a P2P system that utilizes a server browser, allowing individuals to host their own matches and find opponents directly. To give Empulse a proper send‑off, the studio plans to release one final map and apply a price reduction across all regions as part of what it has dubbed the "final update" for the game.
This transition mirrors a similar move made with the original Splitgate last year, when its dedicated servers were decommissioned and the game shifted to P2P hosting. That change kept the title playable on PC and consoles, albeit with a different networking experience. Splitgate 2, which launched in June 2025, quickly became mired in controversy. The game featured a politically charged "Make FPS Great Again" hat and a $145 cosmetic bundle that sparked backlash within 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 placed the title back into a beta state and initiated a second wave of staff reductions, compounding concerns about the project's viability. Empulse, marketed as a 6‑vs‑6 movement shooter and positioned as a spiritual successor to Titanfall, entered early access in June 2026.
Its launch was followed by several rounds of layoffs within weeks, reflecting ongoing financial pressures and the difficulty of sustaining a live‑service model without a sufficiently large and paying player base. Founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian used the announcement to outline a shift in the company's creative direction. After ten years spent building live‑service shooters, they indicated that future projects may look markedly different from what fans have come to expect from 1047 Games.
"We started 1047 Games ten years ago because we love video games," the co‑founders said. "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, though the studio has already endured multiple rounds of 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. Industry observers note that the move away from dedicated servers is a pragmatic response to the economics of live‑service titles.
Maintaining server farms, handling matchmaking, and providing ongoing content updates require a steady stream of revenue that many mid‑tier shooters struggle to achieve. By shifting to a P2P model, 1047 Games can drastically cut operational costs while still allowing the existing community to play the games they love, albeit with a potentially less stable online experience. For players, the transition means that matchmaking times may increase, and issues such as host‑migration, latency, and cheat prevention could become more pronounced.
However, the inclusion of a server browser gives users more control over who they play with, which some community members view as a positive change. Looking ahead, the studio's admission that its next venture could diverge from the live‑service shooter formula opens the door to speculation.
Possibilities range from single‑player narrative experiences to smaller‑scale multiplayer projects that rely less on costly server infrastructure. Whatever direction 1047 Games chooses, the company emphasizes that its core passion—creating games—remains unchanged, and it intends to apply the lessons learned over the past decade to future endeavors.