Titanfall Fans Grieve as Extraction Shooter Axed

Titanfall enthusiasts are grappling with the shocking announcement that EA has axed another incubator project at Respawn Entertainment, coupled with layoffs affecting multiple teams including incubation, Apex Legends, Star Wars: Jedi, and EA Experience personnel.

According to Bloomberg, the scrapped project (codenamed R7) was an extraction shooter set in the Titanfall universe. While not the Titanfall 3 sequel fans have demanded for years, some players express deep disappointment that Titanfall 2 remains without a follow-up after nearly 10 years.

"I just collapsed in Walmart's snack aisle," posted one devastated player, while another simply declared: "I've reached my breaking point."

"How many more cancellations until they finally put this franchise out of its misery?" mourned another fan.

However, some community members view the cancellation as potentially beneficial for the franchise's future. "This might actually preserve Titanfall's legacy," argued one Reddit user. "An extraction shooter could have flopped, giving executives the wrong impression. Nobody wanted Titanfall: Escape from Tarkov Edition."

"Frankly relieved about this cancellation," commented another, adding: "An extraction shooter? Good riddance."

"I'm so over extraction shooters - they're repetitive and tedious. Just give me fast-paced matches with wallrunning mechanics and massive Titan brawls," pleaded a longtime fan.

"Felt devastated... until I read 'extraction shooter'. Suddenly felt at peace," concluded another player.

The layoffs affected approximately 100 Respawn employees across development, publishing, and QA teams working on Apex Legends, plus smaller groups from the Jedi team and two canceled incubation projects - including the one we covered last March and the rumored Titanfall extraction shooter.

These cuts continue EA's recent pattern of restructuring. Earlier this year, BioWare underwent changes with some developers reassigned and others let go. The company previously cut 50 BioWare positions in 2023 and an undisclosed number at Codemasters, followed by a 2024 restructuring that eliminated 670 jobs company-wide, including about two dozen at Respawn.

2023 revelations confirmed Respawn Entertainment actively developed Titanfall 3 for 10 months before pivoting to Apex Legends.

Mohammad Alavi, the would-be narrative lead for Titanfall 3, shared insights with The Burnettwork about the abandoned sequel.

"We approached Titanfall 3 with serious intent," Alavi explained. "The new technology showed promise, we had multiple missions in development, and our first playable demo maintained - if not exceeded - our previous quality standards. However, it lacked the revolutionary spark that defined Titanfall 2."

The decision to cancel stemmed from two key factors: multiplayer sustainability concerns and the Battle Royale boom sparked by PUBG's 2017 success.

"Our multiplayer team struggled significantly," Alavi continued. "While Titanfall 2's multiplayer earned praise, its intense pacing led to player burnout. We aimed to address this from Titanfall 1 to 2, and again for 3 - but ultimately found ourselves more engaged with a Battle Royale prototype using Titanfall mechanics."

This realization prompted a dramatic pivot. "After presenting our Titanfall 3 narrative plan, we returned from break and collectively decided: cancel Titanfall 3 and develop what would become Apex Legends instead."

Remarkably, EA remained unaware of this radical shift for six months - until Respawn presented a working prototype of their new direction.