New Titanfall Delayed by Apex Legends
Respawn Entertainment announced that the development of the new installment of the Titanfall series will become a secondary priority. The reason is the focus on the development of Apex Legends. In addition, developers have reassured that they are focused on improving the game, not adding new content.
Since yesterday we know that Respawn Entertainment studio does not intend to follow the example of Epic Games and plans to release further updates for Apex Legends on a seasonal basis. This does not mean, however, that the developers will not contribute to the development of the title, although it may be done at the cost of another project. Drew McCoy, executive producer at Respawn Entertainment, announced that the company will focus on improving Apex Legends at the expense of the next Titanfall game. He soon assured us that this would not affect the work on the recently announced Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. The production is supervised by a separate team and its members will not be delegated to work on other games.
Right after the unexpected launch of the popular battle royale, Apex Legends, we found out that the game was not the only idea for the development of Titanfall that the developers had up their sleeve. However, not much has been said about the other new project so far. All we know is that it will not be a full-fledged continuation of Titanfall 2, but a developer's experiment, although it won't be a title supporting virtual reality (vide Twitter). Andrew Wilson, CEO of Electronic Arts, also mentioned that this is supposed to be a "premium" game, which could mean that it will become a part of the games as services policy promoted by the publisher. We were supposed to find out more later this year, but in the context of the new announcement it may turn out that we will wait a little longer for further information.
Leaving aside the mention of the new Titanfall, Drew McCoy wrote about Respawn Entertainment's approach to the development of Apex Legends. The producer repeated after Vince Zampella that the studio wants to provide more attractions for players, but does not intend to do so at the expense of its employees. The developer particularly wants to avoid the crunching. This is probably due to the recent news about Epic Games, which allegedly forces the Fortnite team to work up to 100 hours a week.
While the unwillingness to exploit employees may be commendable, gamers looking for new content may be disappointed with Respawn Entertainment's approach. As a consolation, McCoy revealed some plans for the development of Apex Legends. We know that each season will bring a new legend and a battle pass, as well as "something new for the meta (game)", including changes on the game's only available map. However, the devs' priority lies not in novelties, but various amendments. Improved server performance, hit detection, sounds and dealing with cheaters are just some of the issues that are considered critical. This is why creators prioritize the quality of new content over the speed of its release. We will see if such an approach will work in the context of the declining popularity of Apex Legends. For now, we have to wait until this year's EA Play event, during which we will learn more about the second season.
