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Is This the Secret to Saving Titanfall?

Is This the Secret to Saving Titanfall?

Pop quiz! What do you remember about Titanfall ? The game’s less than two years old, so a lot should come to mind. Like it only being on the Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Windows PC. Or involving gigantic mechs, called Titans, which players can ride in and use in 6v6 battles. Maybe that’s what you remember most – the fact that it was an online only game, where up to 50 people could play together.

But do you remember anything about why you were piloting those Titans? Are you still even playing Titanfall ? Probably not, because Respawn Entertainment and EA haven’t supported Titanfall the way Bungie and Activision have Destiny , the other online-only, multiplayer FPS. Where Destiny received its The Taken King expansion and regular patches, Titanfall ‘s last update was Game Update 9 in January 2015. Instead, on Titanfall ‘s one year anniversary, its season pass and all map packs were made free.

The fact is, Titanfall didn’t make the impression it could have because Respawn Entertainment and EA didn’t put in the amount of money necessary to make that happen. Now, all initial information concerning Titanfall 2 and its spin-offs suggest that more money will be thrown in to make the game more successful. EA and Respawn are putting in extra effort.

Take the solo campaign. Jesse Stern, of Respawn Entertainment, says Titanfall 2 will have one . Cliff “CliffyB” Bleszinski already established that an FPS game’s campaign can take up 75% of the budget . With the first Titanfall , Respawn’s Vince Zampella pointed out that the developer was a startup studio with about 60 people and they didn’t see a point in splitting resources at the time to make a single player campaign people might not finish. But now that the sequel’s coming around, it seems Respawn and EA are ready to make that split. It’ll pay off. When you know what you’re fighting for and why, you better connect to the story. You want to keep going. It compels you.

Is This the Secret to Saving Titanfall?

Titanfall ‘s custodians seem to recognize and get that now. In fact, they get it so much that a TV show with Lionsgate TV based on Titanfall is in the works. Would it be expensive? Yes. But sometimes, you have to spend money for a property to succeed. Given how things have gone for Titanfall so far, a spin-off show would keep Titanfall 2 on people’s minds. Again, having that story and foundation keeps you interested. Hopping in a mech to shoot stuff and tromp around gets old without a solid point to it.

The original Titanfall was a good game. It certainly had its moments. Yet somehow, it’s managed to fade away into relative obscurity after its launch, despite similar titles doing well. The problem is, Respawn and EA didn’t put in enough money and effort to make the original a staying success. Now that the companies have committed to a solo campaign for the sequel, among other things, we’re going to see how big of an influence more money makes. I think it’ll make a big difference.

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