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.

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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.

Long Reads Editor

David L. Craddock writes fiction, nonfiction, and grocery lists. He is the author of the Stay Awhile and Listen series, and the Gairden Chronicles series of fantasy novels for young adults. Outside of writing, he enjoys playing Mario, Zelda, and Dark Souls games, and will be happy to discuss at length the myriad reasons why Dark Souls 2 is the best in the series. Follow him online at davidlcraddock.com and @davidlcraddock.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    November 17, 2016 2:48 PM

    David Craddock posted a new article, Respawn CEO: 'We don't know' if there will be a Titanfall 3

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      November 17, 2016 3:18 PM

      Fuck.

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        November 17, 2016 5:31 PM

        Relax buddy.

        There won't be a Titanfall 3, because it will be called Titanfell and it will reign supreme.

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      November 17, 2016 3:18 PM

      Well, I did my part.

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      November 17, 2016 3:20 PM

      SMOOSHING well played, sir.

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      November 17, 2016 3:20 PM

      Relaunch as F2P next year, sell campaign as DLC.

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      November 17, 2016 3:25 PM

      I fucking hate how every game has to be zOMG TEH BETS GAEM EVAR!!1 Why isn't it enough for a game (any product) to pay for its development costs and then bank a little profit for everyone involved? Not everything has to be turned up to 11 to "good" or "successful."

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        November 17, 2016 4:14 PM

        no but they cost so much most people cant buy EVERY game so we buy what we believe to be the BEST game for the money we spend on them.

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        November 18, 2016 4:20 AM

        Because if you're not making COD or WoW money, you're missing an opportunity to make COD or WoW money!

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        November 18, 2016 7:44 AM

        Because shareholders want more. MORE!

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      November 17, 2016 3:30 PM

      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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      November 17, 2016 4:17 PM

      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.

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        November 17, 2016 5:26 PM

        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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      November 17, 2016 4:20 PM

      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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      November 17, 2016 4:21 PM

      I bought it and am happy I did. I like the game a lot although I haven't played it tooooo much, and I like their DLC plans.

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      November 17, 2016 5:33 PM

      Why would they skip 3 and go straight to Titanfall 4? Doesn't make sense

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      November 17, 2016 5:35 PM

      Ugh, EA

    • reply
      November 17, 2016 5:41 PM

      [deleted]

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        November 17, 2016 5:48 PM

        I have never in my life been so strangely stressed out with having so many new multiplayer centric options.

        I still haven't played Halo 5 yet, just picked up Forza Horizon 3, and am getting interested in Rainbow Six Siege. Oh yeah, and I've not really even touched Overwatch.

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      November 17, 2016 5:43 PM

      Of course they'll say that./

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      November 17, 2016 11:55 PM

      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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      November 18, 2016 2:23 AM

      IMO TF2 kind of drops the ball in a few areas, like slightly worse maps than the original game and a very confusing main mode (Bounty Hunt)

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        November 18, 2016 6:22 AM

        Slightly worse than the already bad maps? Whoa no wonder it doesn't sell.

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        November 18, 2016 6:58 AM

        This is not TF2

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      November 18, 2016 2:26 AM

      it's such a damn good game, even the single player is excellent

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      November 18, 2016 3:33 AM

      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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        November 18, 2016 5:41 AM

        Yeah, it wasn't a smart time to release. It baffles me that EA thought it would be a advantageous move.

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          November 18, 2016 6:42 AM

          Yup. In Feb it would've had a clear run.

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          November 18, 2016 6:54 AM

          Someone here theorised it was a way to bleed COD, by releasing two FPSes (BF1/TF2) around it.

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            November 18, 2016 6:59 AM

            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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            November 18, 2016 7:09 AM

            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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              November 18, 2016 7:25 AM

              EA said as much, and I've shared that same theory in articles for the past few weeks. ;)

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      November 18, 2016 4:16 AM

      Man, he sounds like a straight up dick.

      I mean sure his game got hosed by the publisher, but still.

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        November 18, 2016 6:12 AM

        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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          November 18, 2016 6:23 AM

          Haha I have exactly 0 experience in doing so.

          But after his very public flameout with his previous publisher, it seems like a super bad idea to be so hostile with the new one.

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            November 18, 2016 6:45 AM

            Activision wouldn't be the leviathan it is without Vince and the OG IW crew

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            November 18, 2016 6:48 AM

            Always. :) At the same time, Zampella can punch his own ticket at this point.

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          November 18, 2016 6:59 AM

          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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        November 18, 2016 8:16 AM

        I will take sounding like a dick over the same old canned responses any day.

        And anyone who goes nose to nose with an EA exec is good in my books.

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      November 18, 2016 7:09 AM

      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.

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      November 18, 2016 7:17 AM

      I don't blame him for being pissed - Titanfall 2 is a great game that should have been moved to next March like the original was. Too many games right now competing for that same $60.

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      November 18, 2016 7:18 AM

      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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      November 18, 2016 7:51 AM

      Contrasts with EA saying on the investor call that they're building a franchise. Oops!

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      November 18, 2016 8:03 AM

      [deleted]

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        November 18, 2016 8:13 AM

        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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        November 18, 2016 8:16 AM

        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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        November 18, 2016 8:25 AM

        i guess you never played 1 then

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      November 18, 2016 8:28 AM

      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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