Fans of the Titanfall series are grappling with the recent announcement that EA has canceled another incubation project at Respawn Entertainment, alongside laying off numerous employees across its incubation, Apex Legends, Star Wars: Jedi, and EA Experience teams. The canceled project, codenamed R7, was reportedly an extraction shooter set within the beloved Titanfall universe, as per Bloomberg. Although this isn't the much-anticipated Titanfall 3 sequel, the news has left many fans disheartened, especially given that it's been almost a decade since the release of Titanfall 2.
"I just fell to my knees at Walmart," said one player, capturing the deep emotional response to the news. Another fan expressed their frustration simply by writing: "I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE."
"How many more times will this happen before they finally give it up and leave us to our sorrow?" lamented another, highlighting the ongoing disappointment among the fanbase.However, not all fans view the cancellation negatively. Some believe that an extraction shooter in the Titanfall universe might have risked the franchise's future. "Best thing that could've happened as far as the continued existence of this franchise is concerned," posited a user on Reddit. They argued that such a game could have failed, leading executives to mistakenly conclude that the Titanfall brand was no longer viable.
"I’m fine with this one being canceled," responded another fan, followed by: "Extraction shooter lmao. Good riddance." The sentiment was echoed by others who criticized the genre's repetitive nature. "So sick and tired of 'extraction shooters'. They're so formulaic and boring. I don't want to loot a bunch of useless stuff and camp in an attic or sit in a bush for 20 minutes or risk getting shot moving through big open fields. Give me quick matches, wallrunning, and titans blastin'," suggested a fan.
"Got sad. Read extraction shooter. Was literally okay," summarized another, indicating a mixed reaction to the project's nature and its cancellation.
The layoffs affected approximately 100 jobs at Respawn, impacting individuals in development, publishing, and QA roles across Apex Legends and smaller teams working on the Jedi series and the two canceled incubation projects. This move follows a series of layoffs at EA over recent years, including restructuring at BioWare earlier this year, which involved moving developers to other projects and laying off others. In 2023, EA eliminated 50 jobs at BioWare and an unknown number more at Codemasters. In 2024, a larger restructuring resulted in 670 workers being laid off company-wide, including around two dozen workers at Respawn.
AnswerSee ResultsIn 2023, it emerged that Respawn Entertainment had worked on Titanfall 3 "in earnest" for 10 months before shifting focus to Apex Legends. Mohammad Alavi, who transitioned to the role of narrative lead designer for Titanfall 3, shared insights with The Burnettwork about the development process. “Titanfall 2 came out, did what it did, and we were like, ‘Okay, we’re gonna make Titanfall 3,’ and we worked on Titanfall 3 for about 10 months, right? In earnest, right?"
Alavi explained that the team had developed new technology and multiple missions, with a first playable that promised to be as good as, if not better than, previous entries. However, the improvement was incremental rather than revolutionary. "And we were feeling pretty decent about it, but not the same feeling as Titanfall 2 where we were making something revolutionary, y’know what I mean?”
The decision to cancel Titanfall 3 stemmed from challenges in the multiplayer aspect and the rising popularity of the Battle Royale genre following the success of PUBG in 2017. Alavi noted that the multiplayer team struggled to create an experience that wouldn't burn players out quickly. "The multiplayer team was having a hell of a time trying to fix the multiplayer, because a lot of people love the multiplayer. People love Titanfall 2 multiplayer," he said.
However, the player base for Titanfall 2's multiplayer was relatively small, and many players found it too intense to engage with long-term. "But the people who love Titanfall 2 multiplayer is a very small number of people. And most people play Titanfall 2 multiplayer and think it’s really good, but it’s just too much. It’s cranked up to 11, and they burn out a bit fast. And they’re like, ‘That was a great multiplayer, that’s not something I continually play a year, two years,’ right?"
The emergence of PUBG and the team's interest in a Battle Royale mode using Titanfall 3 classes led to a pivotal decision. "And then PUBG came out." The developers found themselves more excited about the Battle Royale concept than the standard Titanfall multiplayer modes they were developing. This realization prompted them to pivot from Titanfall 3 to create what would become Apex Legends.
Alavi, who had just pitched the story for Titanfall 3, recalled the moment of decision: "We literally canceled Titanfall 3 ourselves ’cause we were like, ‘We can make this game, and it’s going to be Titanfall 2 plus a little bit better, or we can make this thing, which is clearly amazing.’" He emphasized that while he would always miss the opportunity to create another Titanfall game, the shift to Apex Legends was the right move. "And don’t get me wrong, I will always miss having another Titanfall. I love that game. Titanfall 2 is my most crowning achievement, but it was the right call. That is a crazy cut. Such a crazy cut that EA didn’t even know about it for another six months until we had a prototype up and running that we could show them!”
