One of 2019’s greatest success stories involved Apex Legends and its massive popularity, seemingly overnight. In fact, publisher Electronic Arts plans to keep Respawn Entertainment “hyper-focused” on the battle royale shooter throughout 2020, leaving the fate of the developer’s beloved Titanfall series up in the air. This was noted on an investor call, where the publisher also said it would be shipping Battlefield 6 sometime before 2022.
On Tuesday, October 29, 2019, publisher Electronic Arts held an investor call, giving updates on the future of its franchises. Notably absent was Titanfall 3, a game that was shelved when Apex Legends took off earlier this year. Not all hope is lost. EA CFO Blake Jorgensen said “We won’t forget about [Titanfall],” despite not having anything more to share about the shooter. Apex Legends takes place in the Titanfall universe and members of the Respawn team express their love for both franchises. While the fate of Titanfall 3 is unclear, we do know the Apex Legends train won’t be stopping any time soon, especially after reaching a staggering 70 million players earlier this year.
Looking at EA’s other franchises, Battlefield will be making its return sometime between April 1, 2021, and March 31, 2022, after the PS5 and next Xbox have launched. EA CEO Andrew Wilson says this is to allow a “strong two years of growth” before releasing what will presumably be Battlefield 6 (although its name has not been confirmed). The shooter will include live-service features and “cutting edge” offerings that are new to the Battlefield series.
EA will also be continuing supporting its live services, with Jorgensen explaining:
The strong results this quarter illustrate the power of our live services and our core franchises. Strength in Ultimate Team, The Sims 4 and FIFA Online drove live services performance above our expectations.
Looking ahead, we are doubling down on live services combined with our core franchises. We’re investing in games that people play for longer and engage with much more deeply. This focus will continue to drive growth and profitability for the company through the remainder of this year and beyond.
It’ll be interesting to see what unfolds after the release of the PS5 and the next Xbox. While much of that is currently uncertain, it’s clear that EA is doing well and its live-service games will not be disappearing any time soon.
[Source: Polygon]
