Titanfall enthusiasts are grappling with disappointment following EA's decision to cancel another incubator project at Respawn Entertainment, paired with layoffs affecting teams working on incubation projects, Apex Legends, Star Wars: Jedi, and EA Experience initiatives.
Bloomberg revealed the scrapped game, internally called R7, was envisioned as an extraction shooter within the Titanfall universe. While not the Titanfall 3 sequel fans have demanded, its cancellation leaves Titanfall 2 without a successor nearly ten years after release.
"I just collapsed in disbelief at Walmart," shared one devastated player, while another simply stated: "I've reached my breaking point."
"How much longer must we endure this cycle before they abandon Titanfall altogether?" questioned another disillusioned fan.
However, some community members view the cancellation as positive news, arguing that an extraction shooter might have further damaged the franchise's reputation.
"This might actually preserve Titanfall's legacy," commented one Reddit user. "A failed extraction shooter could have wrongly convinced executives that interest in Titanfall has faded, when in reality nobody wanted Titanfall as an extraction game."
"Honestly relieved this got canceled," added another, continuing: "An extraction shooter? That's laughable. Good thing it's gone."
"I'm completely exhausted with extraction shooters. They follow the same tired formula—loot pointless items, hide endlessly, or risk crossing open areas. Just give me fast-paced matches with wallrunning mechanics and epic Titan battles," expressed a passionate fan.
"Initially disappointed until I heard 'extraction shooter.' Suddenly felt fine about it," concluded another community member.
The layoffs affected approximately 100 Respawn employees across development, publishing, and QA teams supporting Apex Legends, plus smaller groups working on Jedi projects and two canceled prototypes—one we covered in March and the other believed to be the Titanfall-themed extraction shooter.
These cuts continue EA's recent restructuring. Earlier this year, BioWare underwent changes reassigning some developers while letting others go. The company previously cut 50 BioWare positions in 2023 plus an undisclosed number at Codemasters, followed by broader 2024 layoffs eliminating 670 company-wide positions, including about two dozen at Respawn.
AnswerSee ResultsIn 2023, revelations surfaced that Respawn had actively developed Titanfall 3 for ten months before shifting focus to Apex Legends.
Mohammad Alavi, narrative lead designer for the canceled Titanfall 3, told The Burnettwork significant progress had been made:
"After Titanfall 2's release, we immediately began Titanfall 3 development. For ten months, we created new technology, developed multiple missions, and achieved a playable state comparable to—if not surpassing—our previous work. However, we recognized it was evolutionary rather than revolutionary."
Alavi explained two critical factors derailed Titanfall 3: multiplayer sustainability challenges and PUBG's surprise dominance:
"Our multiplayer team struggled to address player burnout. While Titanfall 2's multiplayer has passionate fans, most players found it too intense for long-term engagement. Then PUBG revolutionized gaming."
The turning point came when Respawn developers preferred testing Titanfall mechanics in Battle Royale prototypes over traditional multiplayer modes:
"We had just finalized Titanfall 3's narrative when we realized pivoting to Battle Royale was the right creative decision. Canceling Titanfall 3 ourselves—before even informing EA—was incredibly difficult, but clearly the correct choice."
Alavi reflected: "Creating something groundbreaking ultimately mattered more than delivering another solid Titanfall sequel. Though I'll always wonder what might have been, Apex Legends proved our instincts correct."
