"We’re not trying to build Titanfall 3," Empulse CEO says, though its’s scratching my wallrunning FPS itch all the same

James Archer — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 14:15:51 +0000

Empulse developers 1047 Games are known first for their Splitgate series of Portal-inspired arena shooters, and perhaps known second for a daft red hat. At last year’s Summer Game Fest, CEO and co-founder Ian Proulx took to the stage to pitch Splitgate 2 in an awkwardly tone-deaf 'Make FPS Great Again' cap, the sartorial power and reactionary tubthumping of which proved ineffective upon the game’s fortunes, even after Proulx’s apology.

Empulse, which launches into early access today (following an introductory Steam Next Fest demo), thus has a fair amount riding on it. It carries both the need of 1047 to brush off Splitgate 2, baggage included, and the weight of comparison – partly self-invited – with the outstanding parkour FPS/mech combat melding of Titanfall. Yet after a few hours with that demo, it does at least feel like Empulse is starting in the right place: less publicity stuntage, more snappy movement-shootering.

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"We’re not trying to build Titanfall 3," Empulse CEO says, though its’s scratching my wallrunning FPS itch all the same