1047 Games announced that it will cease active development on its two flagship titles, Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, and will move both experiences to a peer‑to‑peer (P2P) networking model beginning September 3. The decision marks a clear pivot for the studio after a decade of focusing on live‑service shooters, reflecting the harsh financial realities of maintaining dedicated server infrastructure for games that no longer generate sufficient revenue. In a brief statement posted to X earlier today, the studio explained that the cost of operating dedicated servers and matchmaking services for the two games had outstripped the income they were producing. While the company had continued to subsidize those expenses in an effort to give each title a chance to grow its player base, it ultimately concluded that the model was "no longer sustainable." The developers expressed genuine affection for the projects, noting that they have enjoyed both playing and building the games alongside their communities, and lamented that they could not keep supporting them in the same way.
Effective September 3, the dedicated server back‑ends for Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded will be decommissioned. Players will instead rely on a P2P system that utilizes a server browser, allowing individuals to host matches themselves and locate opponents through the same interface. To give the community a proper send‑off, Empulse will receive one final map addition and a universal price reduction across all regions as part of what the studio has termed the "final update" for the title.
This transition mirrors a similar move made with the original Splitgate last year. After its dedicated servers were shut down, the game migrated to a P2P architecture and remains fully playable on PC and consoles.
That shift demonstrated that a community can continue to enjoy a title even after the loss of official server support, provided the developers supply the necessary tools for player‑hosted matchmaking. The background to these changes is rooted in a turbulent period for 1047 Games. Splitgate 2 launched in June 2025 amid a storm of controversy, including the release of a politically charged "Make FPS Great Again" hat and a $145 cosmetic bundle that sparked widespread criticism. Within weeks of launch, the studio announced an undisclosed round of layoffs, followed by a decision a month later to roll the game back into a beta phase and initiate a second wave of staff reductions.
The upheaval signaled deeper challenges in sustaining a live‑service model for high‑budget shooters. 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 debut was quickly followed by multiple rounds of layoffs, underscoring the difficulty of attracting and retaining a stable player base in a crowded market. Despite the initial hype, the game struggled to achieve the critical mass needed to justify the ongoing costs of dedicated server maintenance.
Co‑founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian used the announcement to articulate a broader strategic shift. After ten years of building live‑service shooters, they said the studio’s focus is "changing" and that future projects may look very different from anything previously associated with 1047 Games. "We started 1047 Games ten years ago because we love video games," the founders 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." While the public statement did not detail the current staffing situation, the studio has already undergone several layoff cycles, the most recent occurring in July—just weeks after Empulse’s early‑access launch.
It remains uncertain whether the latest announcement will precipitate further reductions, but the pattern suggests a continued effort to trim operational costs and reallocate resources toward new, perhaps less server‑intensive, ventures. In summary, 1047 Games is winding down active development on Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, shifting both titles to a peer‑to‑peer hosting model as of September 3. The move reflects broader industry pressures on live‑service shooters, especially those unable to sustain the expensive server ecosystems required for smooth multiplayer experiences. By ending dedicated server support, offering a final content update for Empulse, and emphasizing a strategic pivot, the studio hopes to preserve the core gameplay for existing fans while freeing itself to explore new creative directions beyond the live‑service paradigm.