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Respawn founding developer Drew McCoy leaves the studio

After more than 10 years with the Respawn Entertainment team with work spanning the Titanfall series and Apex Legends, Drew McCoy has left the studio.

TJ Denzer

February 27, 2020 8:13 AM

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It would appear that Respawn Entertainment founding developer and producer Drew McCoy is headed on to new pastures. Recently, McCoy announced that he would be taking his leave of the studio with which he helped build the Titanfall series and more.

Drew McCoy announced his intention of leaving Respawn Entertainment via his personal Twitter on February 24, 2020. Drew thanked the studio and the fans for the 10 years he spent working at Respawn. McCoy was with Respawn from the very beginning under its founders Vince Zampella and Jason West. Even before that, he worked with them at Infinity Ward on the Call of Duty series. He’s had his hands in everything Respawn over the course of the studios’ history which began in April 2010. That includes both Titanfall games and Apex Legends.

Today marks the start of a new adventure for me. I will absolutely cherish the last 10 years I spent helping start Respawn and ship some awesome games alongside amazing people. I'll miss the people the most - the daily arguments, successes, failures, and everything inbetween. 1/2

— Drew McCoy (@DKo5) February 24, 2020

It is unknown what comes next for McCoy, as he didn’t specify himself as of yet. His bio indicates that there might be something upcoming for him, but it’s an unknown at this time. Even still, he indicated that he “can’t stay away from games for long,” so it’s doubtful this will be the last we’ll see of him in the industry.

Either way, McCoy’s absence from Respawn is definitely a big one. Respawn had an incredible year throughout 2019, including the launch of Apex Legends which shook the battle royale scene. The game did so well that it, at one point, set a record high for Twitch views. Then, later in the year, the launch of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order once again got players abuzz as we took on Respawn’s action-packed, lightsaber-wielding take of the Star Wars universe, garnering the accolade of the fastest selling digital Star Wars game of all time. It was enough to earn Respawn Entertainment Shacknews’ Developer of the Year award in 2019.

Whatever comes next for McCoy, it can’t be denied that he was a part of something amazing during his time at Respawn, and Shacknews wishes him the best in his future endeavors.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.