1047 Games, a developer known for Splitgate, has announced their latest project, Empluse. This new game is described as a “Titanfall-inspired movement shooter” and is expected to be released in early access later this year.
In an interview with Polygon, Ian Proulx, the CEO of 1047 Games, stated that while the team will continue to support Splitgate, Empluse will be the main focus moving forward. “I still do believe in [Splitgate: Arena Reloaded,” Proulx said. “I really do. I think it’s a great game. I think it needs sort of a… I mean, I don’t know what it needs, to be honest.”
“We looked very closely at some of our favorite and the best movement shooters out there, like Titanfall 2, Black Ops 3, some of the movement CODs. But we also looked at non-shooting games,” Proulx said of Empluse. “Do you remember SSX Tricky? One of the things we took inspiration from there was that feeling of, like, you’re in that flow state. You’re wall running, you’re grappling, you’re sliding, and then you’re bouncing off these jumps. We had this vision of, what if instead of it just being your typical jump pad or man cannon, it was actually more like a snowboard jump?”
Empluse will not completely abandon the developer’s roots, as it reportedly “riffs on Portal 2’s paint mechanic.” Players will have P.A.I.N.T. Bombs (Plasma Activated Infusion of NanoTech) that, like Portal’s pro- and repulsion gels, provide extra speed or jump boosts. These can be chained to create a highly mobile shooter where players are never standing still, creating a “really freaking fun” experience.
“We have a lot of Titanfall fans in the company. We’ve seen it even in our community,” Proulx said. “A lot of people have asked for wall-running over the years, actually. And so that was one of the things we actually prototyped in early 2025, and we ended up not putting it into the game because we’re like, ‘This just doesn’t really work and none of the maps were built for this. This is about portals.'”
In June 2025, Splitgate 2 was launched to mixed reviews and controversy, leading to a rapid decline in player numbers. The game faced significant criticism, and in response, 1047 decided to “unlaunch” Splitgate 2. In July, the company announced that it would temporarily suspend support for the game while working on a new version with “big, sweeping changes.” Splitgate 2 was then relaunched as a free-to-play game across PC, Xbox, and PlayStation.
“If I look at live-service games that haven’t done well, there’s a million reasons, right? It’s such a difficult industry,” Proulx added. “I think one of the reasons that certain games haven’t done well is chasing trends, instead of trying to provide something players are asking for.”
“And honestly, we’re partially guilty of that. I think we had our own unique take on things, but I think this time around it’s: let’s just make this type of game. It doesn’t have to be the next Fortnite, it doesn’t have to be the next Call of Duty. We think this is a game that players are asking for.
