1047 Games has announced that it will stop 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 clear pivot for the studio after a decade spent primarily on live‑service shooter experiences. In a brief statement posted to X earlier today, the company explained that the revenue generated by the two games no longer covers the ongoing expenses of maintaining dedicated server infrastructure. While the studio had continued to subsidize those costs in the hope that the player bases would eventually grow to a sustainable level, it now acknowledges that this approach is "no longer viable." "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.
"Unfortunately, the financial realities force us to make a different choice." Effective September 3, the dedicated servers and official matchmaking services for Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded will be shut down. Players will instead rely on a P2P system that uses a server browser, allowing individuals to host their own matches and locate others who are doing the same. To give the community a final send‑off, Empulse will receive one last map addition and a universal price reduction across all regions, which the studio has dubbed the "final update" for the title.
This transition mirrors what 1047 Games did with the original Splitgate last year. After its dedicated servers were retired, the game migrated to a P2P framework and remains fully playable today, including on console platforms.
The move demonstrated that the studio can keep a title alive without the expense of centralized servers, albeit with a different player experience. The background to these changes is rooted in a turbulent period for the company. Splitgate 2 launched in June 2025 amid a wave of controversy, most notably a politically charged "Make FPS Great Again" hat and a $145 cosmetic bundle that sparked backlash within the community.
Within weeks of release, the studio announced an undisclosed round of layoffs, and a month later the game was rolled back to beta status, prompting a second wave of staff reductions. Empulse, positioned as a 6‑v‑6 movement shooter and marketed as a spiritual successor to Titanfall, entered early access in June 2026.
Its launch was followed by several rounds of layoffs within a matter of weeks, reflecting ongoing financial pressure and the difficulty of scaling a live‑service model without a robust, paying player base. Co‑founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian used the announcement to signal a broader strategic shift. "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 pair highlighted that more than 25 million players have experienced their games over the past decade, and many of those interactions have turned into lasting friendships. While the statement did not directly address the current staffing situation, it is worth noting that 1047 Games has already undergone multiple layoff cycles, the most recent occurring in July—just weeks after Empulse’s early‑access debut. Whether the latest pivot will result in further reductions remains uncertain, but the pattern suggests the studio is actively restructuring to align its resources with a new development philosophy.
The move away from dedicated servers is significant for the community. Dedicated servers typically provide more stable latency, anti‑cheat protections, and a consistent matchmaking experience. In contrast, P2P networking can introduce variable performance depending on host quality and may require players to be more proactive in finding suitable matches. However, the trade‑off eliminates the recurring cost of server maintenance, allowing the studio to keep the games accessible without a subscription or ongoing micro‑transaction revenue stream.
For fans of Empulse, the final update includes a brand‑new map that aims to showcase the game's core mechanics—fast vertical movement, parkour‑style traversal, and team‑based objective play. The universal price cut is intended to attract new players who might have been hesitant to invest in a title whose future was uncertain.
Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, meanwhile, will rely on its existing community to populate the server browser, and the developers have pledged to continue supporting the game with occasional bug fixes and balance tweaks, even though no major new content is planned. Looking ahead, 1047 Games has hinted that its next project could diverge sharply from the live‑service shooter formula that defined its brand. The founders emphasized that the studio’s core passion—creating enjoyable, well‑crafted games—remains unchanged, even if the genre or delivery model does not. This openness suggests the possibility of exploring single‑player experiences, narrative‑driven titles, or perhaps a different type of multiplayer framework that does not rely on costly server farms.
In summary, the cessation of active development on Empulse and Splitgate: Arena Reloaded reflects both financial pragmatism and a strategic reorientation for 1047 Games. By shifting to peer‑to‑peer hosting, the studio can keep the games alive for existing fans while freeing up resources to pursue new creative directions. The community will need to adapt to the new hosting model, but the promise of a final content update and price reduction for Empulse offers a modest consolation.
As the company moves forward, the gaming world will be watching to see what innovative projects emerge from a studio that has spent a decade shaping the live‑service shooter landscape.