Titanfall 2 May Feature Single Player

In the months of January and February it looked like Titanfall, the new Mech vs. Pilot FPS from Respawn Entertainment, was going to be huge. Coming off a very successful and hype-building beta, as well as a strong showing at E3 2013 last year, the multiplayer landscape seemed ripe for the picking.

And yet, Titanfall came and, for all intents and purposes, it went. It had its moment in the sun, but now it seems excitement for the game has tapered off considerably.

Nonetheless, Titanfall sold well enough for Respawn to commit to a sequel, but changes will be necessary if that want to outdo the first game. Respawn COO Dusty Welch discussed that exact idea in an interview with Game Informer earlier this week.

In the interview, Welch dances around how Respawn plans to improve Titanfall 1 moving forward — an eSports initiative is mentioned — and what changes gamers might expect from Titanfall 2. One of the areas that seemed to get a lot of attention from Welch was the campaign, which he says will evolve for the sequel.

“Campaign mode, I think, was interesting but ultimately not as engaging or rewarding as we would’ve liked. It kind of begs the question for us — do you go further in that? Do you trim that back?”

Many gamers saw the lack of a true single player in Titanfall as a disappointment, and Respawn's attempts to make up for that with a multiplayer-focused campaign did little to change their minds. Ultimately, the campaign was still a series of multiplayer matches, only with a few story trappings packaged around them.

Titanfall Review - Pilot Movement

With Titanfall 2, however, that could change, as Welch teases a potential "back to the drawing board" approach for the campaign.

“Would I rule it out for the future? Certainly not. But I think that there’s a lot of reward in continuing to push the paradigm that Titanfall introduced, which is this always connected, real live visceral multiplayer universe. We learned a lot, and I think it’s up to us to think about how we apply the learning to make the next game even more expansive and more engaging than the first.”

The Respawn COO also wouldn't rule out the possibility of a genuine single player campaign for the sequel, but it sounds like pursuing that outlet would be admitting defeat. Rather, it appears more likely that Respawn would want to prove that this multiplayer-focused campaign concept can work, and that gamers will see it as an improvement over a traditional campaign.

Clearly the foundation has been laid, but what Titanfall 2 does with it will determine how successful this brand is moving forward. When it comes down to it players want more — more weapon choices, more customization options, more Titan types, and more modes — and it's up to Respawn to deliver, potentially on multiple platforms. A bona fide single player might be the answer, but we'll have to wait and see.

What type of campaign experience would you like to see from Titanfall 2? Do you want to see a more traditional single player campaign or a better version of the multiplayer one from the first Titanfall?

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Source: Game Informer

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