Published , by Ozzie Mejia
Published , by Ozzie Mejia
Tuesday's Electronic Arts earnings report was newsworthy for several reasons. However, one of the bigger stories may be one that flew under the radar. In addition to a handful of announced cancellations and delays, EA may have quietly canned a totally different game from Respawn Entertainment, one that would have been set within the worlds of Apex Legends and Titanfall.
The report comes from Jason Schreier at Bloomberg, who bases his findings on three sources close to the project. The game was codenamed "Titanfall Legends" and would have been the next chapter in a universe that's been established by Titanfall and Apex Legends before it. One of the reasons it may have been scratched was because of the departure of Mohammad Alavi, who was attached to the project as director, but who left Electronic Arts early last year.
If this report of Alavi directing a project before his sudden departure sounds familiar, it's because we've covered this subject before. We first observed Alavi's departure in January 2022 and, as part of that news, it came to light that Respawn was working on a top secret project, one that would have released in 2024 or 2025.
It should also be noted that in recent years, Apex Legends has gradually been introducing more characters from the Titanfall timeline, such as Ash. While that narrative direction could be interpreted as Respawn doling out some Easter Eggs, it's just as likely that the developer was setting up for the next chapter in that world's saga.
Wednesday was a bad day for Electronic Arts. Beyond missing revenue expectations for Q3 2023, the publisher announced a delay for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, announced the closing of Apex Legends Mobile less than a year after its launch, and also canceled Battlefield Mobile before it even got out of the starting gate.
In spite of everything, Respawn continues to go on strong. Apex Legends is still performing well and while Star Wars Jedi: Survivor got pushed back six weeks, it's expected to be a major highlight of EA's next fiscal year. As for what happens next for the world established by Titanfall and Apex Legends, that remains to be seen. We'll continue to watch this story and report back on any breaking news.