EMPULSE

EMPULSE is 1047 GamesPublisher1047 Games1047 Games is the independent studio behind Splitgate, its sequel (launched as Splitgate 2, since renamed SPLITGATE: Arena Reloaded), and EMPULSE. In November 2022 it acquired EQU8, the anti-cheat firm whose software Splitgate had used since 2020, and rebuilt it in-house as RedKard, a kernel-mode anti-cheat used exclusively in the studio's own titles.1 game in this family →' 6v6 movement shooter, launched into early access on June 24, 2026 on Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S at $19.99 with full crossplay. The official pitch: outmove and outgun your opponents across the post-utopian streets of Freehold. Movement is the identity, wall-running, a grapple hook, Holojumps, and P.A.I.N.T. gel that changes how surfaces play, plus pilotable mechs that print into the match two at a time. Hands-on coverage at Beebom and GamesBeat both read it as an heir to Titanfall's movement lineage. At early-access launch there is no store, no battle pass, and no microtransactions; cosmetics are earned in play, and the studio has said the price will rise when the game leaves early access.

If you are deciding whether to install EMPULSE, the trade is the common kernel one: a driver with deep system access loads when you play and unloads when you stop. It does not load at boot the way Riot Vanguard does. If you later uninstall the game, it is worth checking your installed apps for a separate RedKardAnti-cheatRedKard (1047 Games)RedKard is 1047 Games' in-house kernel-mode anti-cheat, built from EQU8, the anti-cheat firm the studio acquired in November 2022 after Splitgate had used its software since 2020. It protects only 1047's own titles, currently SPLITGATE: Arena Reloaded and EMPULSE. The studio's player-support pages describe it running only while a protected game is running and closing down when the game closes.1 game in this family → or anti-cheat entry so the driver does not outlive the game that brought it. On Steam Deck and desktop Linux the game is reported working, which is worth understanding rather than just enjoying: a Windows kernel driver cannot load there, so the protection necessarily runs with less, the same trade Easy Anti-Cheat and BattlEye make on those platforms. And this is an early-access title from a small studio: what it asks of your system today can change before full release, so the store page's disclosure is worth re-reading at 1.0.

Installing EMPULSE on PC installs RedKard, 1047 Games' own kernel-mode anti-cheat, and the Steam store page discloses it plainly: kernel-level anti-cheat, RedKard, by 1047 Games. RedKard grew out of EQU8, an anti-cheat firm 1047 acquired in November 2022 and rebuilt in-house, and the studio's player-support pages for its Splitgate titles describe RedKard running only while the protected game is running and closing down when it closes. That puts EMPULSE in the loads-with-game tier, not the always-on tier. No RedKard kernel driver appears on the LOLDrivers public risk list, and none of its components are catalogued elsewhere in the Field Guide yet. The game requires a persistent internet connection.

1047 Games' anti-cheat posture is unusually traceable for an independent studio: rather than license Easy Anti-Cheat or BattlEye, it bought the company. Game Developer covered the November 2022 EQU8 acquisition, with CEO Ian Proulx calling an in-house solution the studio could tweak in real time for its own game a vital part of its anti-cheat strategy. RedKard debuted with the Splitgate sequel. On the compatibility record, GamingOnLinux, which tracks anti-cheat behavior on Linux and Steam Deck, reported that RedKard initially blocked desktop Linux while allowing Steam Deck, that 1047 updated it in May 2025 to admit desktop Linux players, and that its tracker lists EMPULSE as working on both from the Next Fest demo onward. The kernel-level notice on the store page is the standard disclosure Valve has required of kernel anti-cheat games since late 2024.