Empulse is 1047 Games' Titanfall-inspired FPS with mechs, grappling, and a $20 price tag

1047 Games — the studio behind Splitgate and its troubled sequel — showed up to Summer Game Fest 2026 with Empulse, a new competitive movement shooter that wears its Titanfall love on its sleeve. A free demo is live now on Steam Next Fest, with Early Access launching June 24 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S for $19.99.

Empulse is a 6v6 shooter drawing inspiration from Titanfall, Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, and Portal 2. Players use grapple hooks, wall-running, and P.A.I.N.T. grenades that coat the map in special effects. The headline feature is pilotable mechs — you drop into a giant robot, unleash a chain gun and rockets, activate a shield, and crush enemies underfoot before the opposing team takes you down. It works more like a power weapon than a full alternate playstyle, which keeps things arcade-friendly. On the ground, there are no dedicated anti-mech weapons; instead you get a big hammer that does the job. Reviewers note the gunplay feels closer to Splitgate's Halo-ish style than Titanfall's ADS-heavy approach, so don't expect a straight clone. Crucially, 1047 is ditching the free-to-play model — there will be no cash shop at Early Access launch.

Empulse arrives just one year after Splitgate 2's disastrous launch left the studio's reputation badly damaged. Polygon calls it a Hail Mary from a developer teetering on the brink. The encouraging sign is that Empulse strips away modern live service baggage and just lets you play — fast, expressive, and arcade-satisfying in the same way the original Splitgate was. The less encouraging sign is that the art direction, at least in its current early form, leans heavily on flat gray rooftops and unremarkable environments.

For Titanfall fans who have been waiting years for a sequel that Respawn shows no signs of making, Empulse is the closest thing on the horizon. Whether players burned by Splitgate 2 will give 1047 Games another shot is the real question — and with the demo already available, there's at least a low-stakes way to find out before spending any money.