Well, I Went Off The Deep End · 11:32am Feb 5th, 2019
We all do sometimes.
That last blog entry was towards the beginning of me joining the Titanfall community for about four hours of absolute vitriol on Reddit.
When I got it all out of my system, I wasn't angry anymore, but feeling empty and just terribly disappointed at Respawn's chosen direction. Because they have come forward and said Apex Legends is 100% their idea.
As the pissed off fan in me subsided and a more objective part of me emerged again, I tried my best to put the pieces together.
I, along with many others watched gaming news sites cover the Infinity Ward exodus many years ago. Stories of Activision having to offer bonuses for people to stay at their desks. Those who did leave eventually got together to create Respawn Studios, and a couple years later, they debuted their first game's trailer at E3. Titanfall. It was different. It was wild. It put them on the map.
When EA bought Respawn in late 2017 (to prevent a mobile gaming conglomerate from doing so) I began to worry about Titanfall 3. And maybe I didn't pay enough attention to several senior Respawn staff leaving and returning to Infinity Ward after the acquisition. I'm confident that Apex Legends had something to do with it.
So I'm just rambling here. My point is, I think the Titanfall community is right to feel ignored and betrayed. Part of me wonders if Respawn got sick of making Titanfall just like they got sick of making Call of Duty nearly a decade ago. Or maybe as much of a fan of the franchise that I am, maybe it truly isn't making enough money to be viable.
I have been a gamer for over 20 years, and I have never seen such disheartening trend-following from so many publishers and developers like Fortnite has caused. Yes, I am still eagerly awaiting the popping of the battle royale bubble. It is a shooter genre I am not interested in, and now it's encroaching on franchises and developers that I am interested in.
At the same time, though, it's important to keep in mind that despite being an excellent game, Titanfall 2 tanked commercially. 2016 was the year of excellent sequels that sold like shit, and Titanfall 2 was not spared from this either. Basically, it seemz to me that this is Respawn's attempt to prove to EA that they can make money and thus don't need to get shut down.
It had two total entries in the entire series, one of which was good, and now we're witnessing the death of the franchise before it could even take its first step.
5008442
I'd like to think that it wouldn't have tanked if they didn't release it between the TWO BIGGEST SHOOTER RELEASES OF 2017. Maybe if it released in March or some time in the Spring, maybe it could have been popular enough to keep the studio's interest in the franchise.
5008446
True, that certainly didn't help. Though other fantastic sequels like Dishonored 2 also sold like shit, so maybe it was a case of general sequel fatigue affecting even young franchises.
How did you feel about Titanfall 2?