Enthusiasts of *Titanfall* are reeling from recent announcements that *EA* has canceled yet another incubation project at *Respawn Entertainment*. Alongside this, several employees across various teams—including *Apex Legends*, *Star Wars: Jedi*, and other experimental initiatives—have been let go. According to *Bloomberg*, the scrapped game, codenamed *R7*, was envisioned as an extraction shooter within the *Titanfall* universe. While this isn't the long-awaited *Titanfall 3* sequel fans have hoped for, many remain disheartened that the beloved *Titanfall 2* still lacks a follow-up nearly a decade later.
One player expressed their despair vividly, saying, "I just fell to my knees at Walmart." Another succinctly summed it up with, "I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE."
"How many more times will this happen before they finally give up and leave us to our sorrow?" lamented another fan.Not everyone shares the same sentiment, though, as some believe an extraction shooter tied to the Titanfall universe could have jeopardized the franchise's future. "The best thing that could've happened for the continued existence of this franchise," posited one Reddit user. "An extraction shooter would probably flop, and the executives would blame the fans instead of recognizing the obvious truth: nobody asked for it."
Other fans seem indifferent to the cancellation. "I’m fine with this one being canceled," responded another commenter, adding, "Extraction shooter lmao. Good riddance."
Some players expressed frustration with the genre itself. "So sick and tired of 'extraction shooters'. They're so formulaic and boring. I don’t want to loot useless items and hide in corners or sit idle for hours. I want quick matches, wall-running, and titans blowing stuff up," suggested one gamer.
The layoffs at Respawn affected approximately 100 individuals, including those involved in development, publishing, and quality assurance for Apex Legends, as well as smaller groups working on the Jedi team and two canceled incubation projects—one of which was previously reported on in March, and the other suspected to be the rumored extraction shooter. These cuts follow numerous layoffs at EA over recent years, including restructuring efforts at BioWare, cutting 50 jobs in 2023, eliminating an undisclosed number at Codemasters, and laying off 670 employees globally in 2024, including around two dozen at Respawn.
Answer | See ResultsIn 2023, it emerged that Respawn Entertainment worked diligently on Titanfall 3 for 10 months before shifting focus to Apex Legends. Mohammad Alavi, who became narrative lead designer during the project's early stages, revealed that substantial progress had been made. "We worked on Titanfall 3 for about 10 months, right? In earnest. We had new technology, multiple missions underway, and a playable demo on par with—or better than—its predecessors. Incrementally better, yes, but not revolutionary."
Alavi explained that the multiplayer team struggled to create an experience that wouldn't exhaust players quickly. The rise of the Battle Royale genre with PUBG's release in 2017 further influenced the decision to pivot away from Titanfall 3. Instead, the team found themselves drawn to experimenting with a Battle Royale-style map featuring Titanfall 3 classes, leading to the realization that creating such a game could yield greater success.
"Don’t get me wrong, I’ll always miss another Titanfall. Titanfall 2 is my proudest accomplishment, but it was the right choice. It was such a bold move that EA didn’t even know about it for six more months, until we had a working prototype ready to show them!"
