Respawn Entertainment is today best known as the studio behind the immensely popular Apex Legends battle 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 the Titanfall franchise 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.
Titanfall is a first-person shooter franchise built around fast-paced movement, rapid gunplay, and controllable mech-like Titans. The last main installment in the series was Titanfall 2 in 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 for Titanfall to make a comeback.
What Made Titanfall So Special?
Upon release, Titanfall 2 was 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-first FPS titles.
Even more enthusiastic was the response to Titanfall 2's multiplayer. 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 huge Titans that kept gameplay exciting from 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 multiplayer also 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 why Titanfall hasn't seen a new installment since the second game. The unfortunate truth is that Titanfall 2 did 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: Battlefield and Call of Duty.
Battlefield 1, like Titanfall, was published by EA and was clearly the financial priority for the publisher. Battlefield 1 released just seven days before Titanfall 2 on 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 marketing Titanfall 2 in favor of Battlefield 1. It was no surprise, then, that many people were not interested in another multiplayer FPS released just days later.
Meanwhile, Call of Duty presented a more unique challenge, with Infinite Warfare releasing days after Titanfall 2 on November 7. Unlike Battlefield 1, marketing for Infinite Warfare was 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 successive Call of Duty games featured them. With that in mind, Titanfall 2 was facing a market where many gamers were burnt out on its setting and mechanics due to Call of Duty, even though many would agree that Titanfall executed them better. Even still, many who remained interested in these features were more likely to buy a game from the juggernaut Call of Duty franchise.
Now Is the Perfect Time for a New Titanfall
With all these odds stacked against it, Titanfall 2 ultimately delivered disappointing sales figures, seemingly ending the franchise. While competition with Infinite Warfare and futuristic-shooter burnout was a large factor, it was likely the treatment from EA in favor of Battlefield 1 that was its undoing. This is made even clearer by the fact that Battlefield 1 outsold both Infinite Warfare and Titanfall 2 combined. But that may be one of the reasons why now is the best time for a Titanfall comeback.
The Battlefield franchise has had a rough couple of years since 2016. Battlefield 5 launched 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 with post-launch updates for Battlefield 2042, but the game has yet to recover from its rocky launch, and may never do so.
Though the next Battlefield title is 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, Titanfall could 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's player count regularly outnumbers that of Battlefield 2042, despite being five years older.
There's also a now empty niche that a new Titanfall game could occupy in the genre. Call of Duty has distanced itself from the futuristic movement and settings since Infinite Warfare, with more recent games set in World War Two and the modern era. Given this, the issue of burnout on futuristic shooters is less of a problem a potential Titanfall game could face.
Apex Legends Could Spell the Success of a New Titanfall
On top of all this, Titanfall now has a new tool at its disposal that could precipitate its success: Apex Legends. Coming from the same developer and set in Titanfall's universe, Apex Legends is consistently one of the most widely played games available. In fact, based on revenue and popularity, Apex Legends has already replaced Battlefield as EA's flagship FPS. As such, a perfect opportunity could be to introduce a new Titanfall game as a tie-in to Apex Legends. Titanfall's fast-paced, close-quarters gameplay could be a perfect companion to the larger-scale battle royale formula of Apex Legends
That shared universe is even more reason why a new Titanfall game makes so much sense. Apex Legends has included a lot of lore that references Titanfall, but hasn't fully fleshed much of it out. Not only do they share assets like weapons and animations, but even characters. Playable legend Ash was first introduced as a minor villain during the campaign of Titanfall 2. Likewise, Valkyrie's origin story involves stealing a Northstar Titan from her father Viper, another one of the antagonists of Titanfall 2. The lack of deeper exploration of these connections is mostly down to the fact that Apex Legends directs its focus on its multiplayer battle royale, with no single player campaign option available.
This means the groundwork for a new Titanfall game 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 to Apex Legends while also creating a worthwhile campaign for Titanfall. This attachment to Apex Legends could 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 the Titanfall franchise. In fact, there are some indications that a single-player game based on what is now called the Apex Universe is on the way from Respawn, but there's still no indication of the incredible multiplayer of Titanfall returning any time soon.
Titanfall 2 is currently available to play on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.