Developer 1047 Games has reportedly undergone a third round of layoffs, with multiple employees announcing their departures on LinkedIn. These cuts come less than a month after the studio released its latest game, Empulse.
The news of job reductions surfaced last week, with QA director Igor Krinitskiy describing the situation as "the third wave of studio layoffs." Other employees have also confirmed their departures due to these cuts. UI engineer Iannis Stefan Palaczkos stated that "the studio has been sadly hit by another wave of layoffs, and I got caught in that wave," while concept artist Jonathan Kuo separately announced that "as of the end of this week, it will be my last day at 1047 Games due to the third wave of studio layoffs."
1047 Games initially found significant success with Splitgate: Arena Warfare, a title that garnered widespread attention for its unique "Halo with portals" gameplay. This early success led to a $100 million funding round in 2021 and aspirations of becoming a major player in the industry. However, subsequent projects have not replicated that initial triumph. Splitgate 2 faced significant issues, leading to its rollback and earlier layoffs. It was later re-launched as Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, but failed to recapture the player base of its predecessor.
Empulse, announced earlier this year, also received a positive initial reception but has struggled to attract a substantial player count. Unlike the free-to-play Splitgate, Empulse is a paid title, costing $20. Despite this difference, concurrent player counts on Steam have remained below 1,000. In 2025, studio CEO Ian Proulx had expressed a philosophy of gradual growth rather than aiming for immediate massive success, a principle that may now be critical for the future of both Empulse and 1047 Games itself.