Respawn Entertainment is today best known as the studio behind the immensely popularApex Legendsbattle royale game, but its presence in the gaming world was cemented long before that. The developer first made a name for itself with the creation of theTitanfallfranchise in 2014. While the series was a big hit with those who gave it a chance, it hasn’t seen a new addition in almost six years, but now might just be the best time for it to return.
Titanfallis a first-person shooter franchise built around fast-paced movement, rapid gunplay, and controllable mech-like Titans. The last main installment in the series wasTitanfall 2in October 2016. While it went down as one of the most refreshing takes on the genre in a long time, the game underperformed commercially, with the series ultimately seeming like it has been canned. Considering how much the FPS landscape has changed since then, it might be time forTitanfallto make a comeback.
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What Made Titanfall So Special?
Upon release,Titanfall 2was a critical success. The single-player campaign, while lacking in a compelling story, was praised for how it improved on the one-dimensional gameplay of other campaigns in the genre. The level design was built around the wall running, sliding, and other movement mechanics, introducing engaging platforming sections between combat sequences. The experience stood leagues above the repetitive corridor shooters of other multiplayer-firstFPS titles.
Even more enthusiastic was the response toTitanfall 2’smultiplayer. While it often suffered from connection and matchmaking issues, the overall gameplay was a breath of fresh air for the genre. Fans were impressed by the thoughtful map design, built to facilitate the slick movement system, while still creating the space for the hugeTitans that kept gameplay excitingfrom moment to moment. Gunplay was well polished and satisfying. Weapons, equipment, and the unique boost card system were well-balanced. Even the encounters between Titans and players on the ground were intelligently implemented, with Titans feeling suitably powerful but never unfair.
Titanfall 2’s multiplayeralso featured a surprisingly deep progression system, implemented in a consumer-friendly way. Cosmetics could either be earned through gameplay or bought via microtransaction, but, crucially, with no randomized lootboxes. Meanwhile, non-cosmetics like weapons and boosts were limited to being unlocked strictly through gameplay progression, not microtransactions.
What Happened to Titanfall
If the most recent game was so well received by both critics and fans, it raises the question of whyTitanfallhasn’t seen a new installment since the second game. The unfortunate truth is thatTitanfall 2did all the right things, just at the wrong time. The game faced an incredibly uphill challenge with its October 2016 release. Not only is this an already competitive release window, but 2016 saw it sandwiched between the two behemoths of the FPS genre:BattlefieldandCall of Duty.
Battlefield 1,likeTitanfall,was published by EAand was clearly the financial priority for the publisher.Battlefield 1released just seven days beforeTitanfall 2on October 21, following a hugely hyped marketing campaign. After multiple games set in the modern era, excitement was high based on the fact the series was returning to a historical period, and one that AAA games had seldom explored at that point. This, along with its longer established history, meant EA somewhat neglected marketingTitanfall 2in favor ofBattlefield 1.It was no surprise, then, that many people were not interested in another multiplayer FPS released just days later.
Meanwhile,Call of Dutypresented a more unique challenge, withInfinite Warfarereleasing days afterTitanfall 2on November 7. UnlikeBattlefield 1, marketing forInfinite Warfarewas very poorly received. The game’s announcement trailer remains infamous as one of the most disliked YouTube videos of all time. Much of this was due to fans growing tired of the futuristic setting and wall-running movement system, after successiveCall of Dutygames featured them. With that in mind,Titanfall 2was facing a market where many gamers were burnt out on its setting and mechanics due toCall of Duty, even though many would agree thatTitanfallexecuted them better. Even still, many who remained interested in these features were more likely to buy a game from the juggernautCall of Dutyfranchise.
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Now Is the Perfect Time for a New Titanfall
With all these odds stacked against it,Titanfall 2ultimately delivered disappointing sales figures, seemingly ending the franchise. While competition withInfinite Warfareand futuristic-shooter burnout was a large factor, it was likely the treatment from EA in favor ofBattlefield 1that was its undoing. This is made even clearer by the fact thatBattlefield 1outsold bothInfinite WarfareandTitanfall 2combined. But that may be one of the reasons why now is the best time for aTitanfallcomeback.
TheBattlefieldfranchise has had a rough couple of years since 2016.Battlefield 5launched in a poor state and lost its player base rapidly. The most recent game,Battlefield 2042, was also released with many game-breaking bugs and lacked rudimentary features of multiplayer FPS games such as a scoreboard. The gameplay was criticized as uncharacteristically stale for the franchise, with the poorly implemented hero system and bad pacing due to the large map size getting a lot of the blame. Some of this has changed withpost-launch updates forBattlefield 2042, but the game has yet to recover from its rocky launch, and may never do so.
Thoughthe nextBattlefieldtitleis already in the works, the smarter move for EA may have been to give the series a break, so its developers can thoroughly consider feedback from players. In the meantime,Titanfallcould be a better game to carry EA’s multiplayer AAA FPS aspirations. Even the player base reflects the potential this move could hold for EA, with the game seeing something of a resurgence as of late.Titanfall 2’splayer count regularly outnumbers that ofBattlefield 2042, despite being five years older.
There’s also a now empty niche that a newTitanfallgame could occupy in the genre.Call of Dutyhas distanced itself from the futuristic movement and settings sinceInfinite Warfare,with more recentgames set in World War Twoand the modern era. Given this, the issue of burnout on futuristic shooters is less of a problem a potentialTitanfallgame could face.
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Apex Legends Could Spell the Success of a New Titanfall
On top of all this,Titanfallnow has a new tool at its disposal that could precipitate its success:Apex Legends.Coming from the same developer and set inTitanfall’suniverse,Apex Legendsis consistently one of the most widely played games available. In fact, based on revenue and popularity,Apex Legendshas already replacedBattlefieldas EA’s flagship FPS. As such, a perfect opportunity could be to introduce a newTitanfallgame as a tie-in toApex Legends.Titanfall’sfast-paced, close-quarters gameplay could be a perfect companion to the larger-scalebattle royaleformula ofApex Legends
That shared universe is even more reason why a newTitanfallgame makes so much sense.Apex Legendshas included a lot of lore that referencesTitanfall,but hasn’t fully fleshed much of it out. Not only do they share assets like weapons and animations, but even characters.Playable legend Ashwas first introduced as a minor villain during the campaign ofTitanfall 2. Likewise, Valkyrie’s origin story involves stealing a Northstar Titan from her father Viper, another one of the antagonists ofTitanfall2. The lack of deeper exploration of these connections is mostly down to the fact thatApex Legendsdirects its focus on its multiplayer battle royale, with no single player campaign option available.
This means the groundwork for a newTitanfallgame is already there. A new installment complete with a dedicated story and campaign presents the chance for some more in-depth stories to be told around these characters, adding new lore toApex Legendswhile also creating a worthwhile campaign forTitanfall. This attachment toApex Legendscould also be a huge driver of sales. From a publishing standpoint,Apex Legends’success would lend a sizable boost to any marketing for the return of theTitanfallfranchise. In fact, there are some indications that a single-player game based on what is now calledthe Apex Universeis on the way from Respawn, but there’s still no indication of the incredible multiplayer ofTitanfallreturning any time soon.
Titanfall 2is currently available to play on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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