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) networking model as of September 3. The decision marks a significant strategic pivot for the studio, which has spent the past decade concentrating on live‑service shooter experiences. In a brief statement posted to X earlier today, the company explained that the revenue generated by the two titles no longer justifies the expense of maintaining dedicated server infrastructure. While the studio had continued to subsidise server costs in the hope that the games would eventually achieve a sustainable player base, it now acknowledges that this approach is "no longer sustainable" from a financial perspective.
"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 bittersweet nature of the move. Effective September 3, the dedicated servers and centralized matchmaking services for Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded will be decommissioned. Players will instead rely on a P2P system complemented by a server‑browser interface, allowing them to host their own matches and locate opponents directly.
To give the community a proper send‑off, Empulse will receive one final map addition and a universal price reduction across all regions, packaged as the game's "final update." This is not the first time 1047 Games has transitioned a title to P2P hosting. The original Splitgate made the same switch last year after its dedicated servers were shut down, and the game remains fully playable on both PC and console platforms.
The shift to P2P is intended to keep the titles accessible without the ongoing cost burden of server farms. The background to this announcement is rooted in 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 high‑priced $145 cosmetic bundle. Within weeks of launch, the company announced a round of layoffs, the size of which was not disclosed. A subsequent month saw the game pushed back into a beta phase and a second wave of staff reductions.
Empulse, billed as a 6‑vs‑6 movement shooter and often described as a spiritual successor to Titanfall, entered early access in June 2026. Its debut was quickly followed by multiple rounds of layoffs, reflecting the studio's ongoing struggle to align development costs with revenue streams. Co‑founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian used the announcement to signal a broader change in direction.
"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 founders highlighted that over a decade, more than 25 million players have experienced their games, and many of those interactions have turned into lasting friendships.
While the statement did not explicitly detail future staffing plans, it follows a pattern of repeated layoffs that have plagued the company since early 2025. The most recent round occurred in July, just weeks after Empulse's early‑access launch. It remains uncertain whether the latest pivot will result in additional reductions or a restructuring of the development teams.
The transition to peer‑to‑peer hosting will have several practical implications for players. Without centralized servers, match latency will depend more heavily on the quality of individual host connections, potentially leading to a more variable online experience. However, the server‑browser system will give players greater control over which matches they join, and community‑run servers can be customized with unique rulesets or mods, fostering a more grassroots ecosystem.
From a business standpoint, moving away from the costly upkeep of dedicated servers allows 1047 Games to reallocate resources toward new projects or experimental genres. The studio has hinted that future titles could diverge sharply from the fast‑paced, competitive shooter formula that defined its brand for a decade. This could involve exploring narrative‑driven experiences, cooperative adventure games, or even non‑gaming interactive media.
Industry observers note that the shift mirrors a broader trend among mid‑size developers who find the live‑service model increasingly risky. The high upfront investment in server infrastructure, combined with the unpredictable nature of player retention, can quickly erode profit margins if a game fails to achieve a critical mass of active users. By embracing P2P solutions, studios can keep games alive in a more cost‑effective manner, albeit with trade‑offs in performance and scalability. For the existing community of Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded players, the announcement is a mixed blessing.
On one hand, the games will continue to be playable without the looming threat of a complete shutdown. On the other, the loss of official matchmaking and regular content updates may diminish the competitive scene that many players cherish. The final map for Empulse and the price cut are intended as goodwill gestures, but they may not fully offset the disappointment of seeing the titles move out of the live‑service spotlight. In summary, 1047 Games is closing the chapter on its live‑service shooter era by ending active development on Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded and transitioning both games to peer‑to‑peer hosting.
The move reflects financial realities, a series of layoffs, and a desire to explore new creative directions after a decade of focusing on multiplayer shooters. While the long‑term impact on the studio's portfolio remains to be seen, the decision ensures that the existing player bases can still enjoy the games, even as the company looks toward a different future.