Respawn CEO: 'We don't know' if there will be a Titanfall 3
EA and Respawn are sending mixed messages concerning the future of the franchise.
In an interview with Rolling Stone's Glixel publication, Respawn Entertainment CEO Vince Zampella admitted he doesn't know if Titanfall 3 is in the cards for his studio.
"We don't know yet. The game is, critically, a huge success," Zampella said in regard to Titanfall 2, released on October 28 for Xbox One, PS4, and PC. "We're really happy with all the reviews and the positive sentiment. Sales, it's too early to tell. We'd definitely like to tell more of the story and the universe. I think it's pretty safe to assume that we'll explore more of it. EA might have announced more."
Zampella asked EA representative Devin Bennett, who was present for the interview, to chime in. "What we've said is we're committed to the franchise," Bennett said.
Zampella's response came across rather clipped. "Whatever the f*ck that means."
[Respawn CEO Vince Zampella. Image courtesy of the LA Times.]
That wasn't the only point where the tone of the interview seemed a little tense. EA executives have said Titanfall 2 released so close in proximity to EA's Battlefield 1 and Activision's Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare in an attempt to coax gamers toward one or both of its offerings and away from Infinite Warfare, the publisher's main competitor in the FPS space.
In his discussion with Glixel editors, Zampella didn't seem thrilled by that plan.
"It definitely feels a little odd. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is from my old studio, that I built," he said. "And they're repackaging my old game that I built, on a brand that I built. So it's kind of like you're throwing it all against me. OK, I can live with it."
Continuing on, Zampella said "If the question was, 'Would I rather have this window to myself?' Well, of course. I'm not foolish. I'm not foolish that way, anyway. In other ways, probably."
Pundits have questioned the wisdom of smooshing Titanfall 2 between the release of Battlefield 1 and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. In a previous interview, Titanfall 2 producer Drew McCoy said Respawn had no control over the release window, but that the development team was happy with and confident in their game.
Less than 24 hours after its release, an analyst predicted disappointing sales for Titanfall 2 due to its rough release window. EA executives were quick to say that they're more focused on long-term results for Respawn's franchise than they are day-one or week-one sales numbers.
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replyDavid Craddock posted a new article, Respawn CEO: 'We don't know' if there will be a Titanfall 3
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Well, I did my part.
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I enjoyed the single player, but a lot of the same gripes I had from the first game continued to this one. Horrible release window though.
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Yeah, dat release window.
Sandwiched between BF1 AND CoD: IW?
That's a bunch of horseshit. Looks like EA just kinda used them as a method to canabalize CoD sales.
Titanfall 2 feels solid. I think it's solid. But there's no way it can compete with CoD in multiplayer. I feel like CoD has way more unlocks and multiplayer content to keep people coming. Tf2 does a pretty good job. But another 2 or 3 months in the hopper for multiplayer CONTENT creation (unlocks, better skins, more abilities) would have increased its longevity as a multiplayer game, as well as put it outside the ridiculous holiday window of some of the heaviest IP hitters in the industry.-
A month ago I had decided I was going with Infinite Warfare over Titanfall 2.
After playing the beta, I completely wrote it off. It might have more options, but the core gameplay, the gunplay, the movement, the sounds, the visuals, the maps...felt like a cheap Chinese knockoff version of COD. I was so sad...
Until I played Titanfall 2. :-)
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Of course, there will be one, EA is all behind it and maybe next time they will pick a less crowded time of the year to release.
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Why would they skip 3 and go straight to Titanfall 4? Doesn't make sense
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Shit I haven't touch any new shooters since Overwatch came out because I'm still addicted to that shit, and I have no interest in these game as they've been done to death.
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This is not TF2
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Zampella sounds pretty salty about that release window. I don't blame him. I wonder what Respawn's deal with EA looks like? It seems like EA has inordinate amount of control.
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It would have been smart had EA had the sense to have Titanfall available at launch for a 10 hour trial on the heels of people doing EA/Origin access for BF1 early access.
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Jeff Gertsmann speculated that was the case. From EA's perspective Titanfall 2 could be the sacrificial lamb to try and bleed off some of CoD's player base. They aren't invested in the long term success of Titanfall 2 now that they have Battlefront and the SW license.
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EA said as much, and I've shared that same theory in articles for the past few weeks. ;)
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I don't know how much experience you have making creative works, but they become your babies. When someone messes with them, you're entitled to sound like a straight-up dick.
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Always. :) At the same time, Zampella can punch his own ticket at this point.
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Independent of being fucked over by their publisher, these are the same guys that told people along with their former publisher that p2p servers supposedly were superior to dedicated servers and linked those to piracy, also didn’t come across like mr niceguy with some of the emails published throughout their fight with activision.
All the shit about "remember you buy the game and get ALL content?!!11"
Yeah same guys who spearheaded everything that is wrong in that area. Its just that these fuckers are now in a weaker position. So when this dude sounds like a dick, its a groomed decade long personal trait, just that he is not on top of the world dictating the terms this time around.
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Really kinda sucks, I'm gonna hopefully pick this up over the holidays, I just didnt have time for a brand new game.
I feel like they just screwed titanfall 2 over. -
Sucks. Of course that happens to this game. I'm absolutely loving the shit out of it and play it every night and have FINALLY started to get good. It's the first modern multiplayer FPS that has grabbed me since the first Modern Warfare.
I hope this is just a man venting about how pissed he is about the release window screwing him over and EA realizes the potential and we get Titanfall 3. I guarantee the next one would be even better than this one in every conceivable way. -
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It's true! I've been playing the shit out of it the past couple of weeks. Decided to get back into Destiny 2 nights ago and... Holy crap, everything just feels so sluggish.
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This.
The feel and movement just work. No more tripping over curbs like Battlefield. I feel like the game goes out of its way to help me navigate and climb obstacles or terrain. It's a joy to simply move.
But add the power and precise feel of the weapons in a console no less! Now you're playing with power!!!
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The biggest problem with the game is how easily one good player can wipe a whole other team and single handidly win a match for his/her team.
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