EMPULSE, the new 6v6 movement shooter from 1047 Games — the studio behind Splitgate — is making its big push this week. A free demo is live as part of Steam Next Fest, and the full game heads into Early Access on June 24, 2026 across PC (Steam), PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S for $19.99, discounted to $15 during launch week.
If the pitch sounds familiar, that is by design: EMPULSE wears its Titanfall 2 influence proudly. Movement is the entire point. You wall-run forwards and backwards, fire a grapple hook, launch off Holojumps and — yes — pilot mechs, all while fighting through the vertical streets of Freehold, a reclaimed district inside a sprawling megacity.
P.A.I.N.T., mechs and verticality
The twist on the formula is P.A.I.N.T., a system that lets you alter surfaces on the fly to open new movement lines and reshape a firefight mid-battle. Combined with the grapple and Holojumps, it gives EMPULSE a frantic, three-dimensional flow where the best players are the ones who barely touch the ground. Matches pit rival mercenary “Crews” against each other in fast 6v6 skirmishes.
1047 Games is also making a pointed promise about monetisation. At Early Access launch the studio says there will be no in-game store, no battle pass, no paid cosmetics and no microtransactions — a stance squarely aimed at players burned out on live-service storefronts. Whether that holds as the game grows is the obvious question, but it is a strong opening position for a $20 shooter.
From Splitgate to the streets of Freehold
1047 Games built a loyal following with Splitgate, its portal-meets-arena shooter, and EMPULSE feels like the team chasing a bigger, more mobile combat sandbox. The Next Fest demo is the first chance for a wide audience to test whether the movement holds up under pressure — and given how beloved Titanfall 2's pilot traversal remains, there is plenty of appetite for a worthy successor.
The demo is available now via Steam Next Fest, which runs through June 22, with Early Access following on June 24.
