Titanfall 3 Isn't In Development, Respawn Confirms As Apex Legends Releases
"The world thinks we're making Titanfall 3 and we're not."
A new game in the Titanfall universe, Apex Legends, was announced and released today for PlayStation, Xbox One, and PC. It's the only Titanfall game coming for a while, it seems, as developer Respawn has now confirmed that Titanfall 3 is not in development. [Update: Despite this news, some kind of new Titanfall experience is on the way.]
Producer Drew McCoy candidly told Eurogamer, "The world thinks we're making Titanfall 3 and we're not--[Apex Legends] is what we're making."
Apex Legends is the result of putting one of the best FPS dev teams in the world on a game focused on doing a few things really well. We look at battle royale as a genre, not a mode, and we're here to help mold it. Hope everyone is enjoying the game as much as we had making it!
— Drew McCoy (@DKo5) February 4, 2019
As for why Respawn chose to announce Apex Legends and release it on the same day, McCoy said the game would have faced a PR challenge had it been marketed traditionally.
"We're doing a free to play game, with essentially loot boxes, after we were bought by EA, and it's not Titanfall 3. It's the perfect recipe for a marketing plan to go awry," he said. "So why have that- let's just ship the game and let players play."
According to Kotaku, Titanfall 3 was in development at one point in time, and Respawn reportedly wanted to get it out sooner rather than later. The report suggests Titanfall 3 became Apex Legends, though there are no specifics available about what differences may exist. Apex Legends does not include any titans or wall-running--those were hallmarks of Titanfall 1 and 2.
No one from Respawn or EA--which now owns the studio--has said Titanfall 3 will never be made, so those looking to see the mainline franchise continue still have some hope. When EA purchased Respawn for hundreds of millions of dollars, the company also got the rights to Titanfall.
Apex Legends will use the games-as-a-service model through which Respawn will continue to support, grow, and evolve the title over time. It is free-to-play, supported by microtransactions--here's a guide to the Apex Legends microtransactions.
In addition to Apex Legends, Respawn is working on a new Star Wars game, Jedi: Fallen Order, along with an untitled virtual reality project in partnership with Oculus.
More -- Apex Legends Gameplay Impressions: Respawn's Biggest Innovation Is Making Teamwork Easier
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