Titanfall 2 has gotten a pretty good rap from the media and its fanbase so far, but there was always one major problem: the launch date.
Landing between Battlefield 1 and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare was always going to be tricky, and even without COD people were asking: why didn’t EA give Titanfall 2 a little more breathing room from its own franchise? Wouldn’t the popularity of one hurt the other?
EA has defended the timing of both games by saying that Titanfall is about building a franchise in the long term, and that things are fine. But in a new interview at Glixel with Respawn CEO Vince Zampella, the strategy might not have been mutually welcomed.
When asked whether he thought Respawn and Titanfall 2 was getting enough support from the game’s publisher, Electronic Arts, Zampella was pretty blunt. “It’s always a concern,” he replied. “That’s what I’ll say. Especially when you have two games on top of each other.”
And then this exchange happened:
Glixel: Will you make another Titanfall game?
Vince Zampella: We don’t know yet. The game is, critically, a huge success. We’re really happy with all the reviews and the positive sentiment. Sales, it’s too early to tell. We’d definitely like to tell more of the story and the universe. I think it’s pretty safe to assume that we’ll explore more of it. EA might have announced more. Devin?
EA publicist Devin Bennett: What we’ve said is we’re committed to the franchise.
Zampella: So, whatever the fuck that means.
Not the most cordial of relationships, then. Go check out the full interview to find out more, and see what I and the rest of the Kotaku community thought of Titanfall 2 if you’re on the fence.
Comments
8 responses to “Respawn Says Getting Support From EA Is ‘Always A Concern’”
Zampella: Fuck you, Activision! I’m out, I’m going to make the game I want to make, and no evil publisher is going to stifle me.
EA: Welcome aboard, Mr. Zampella.
*EA strokes white cat on lap*
No, Mr Zampella, I expect you to die.
Zampella: Fuck you EA. I made Medal of Honour… and no publisher is going to fuck me over again! I’m going to Activision… they’ll treat me right.
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Some time later:
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Zampella: Fuck you Activision. I made Call of Duty… and you didn’t appreciate me! I’m going to EA, and I’m going to start my own IP with blackjack and hookers. No publisher is going going to disrespect me again…
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Even later:
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Zampella: Man, EA ain’t treating me right… I’mma make a snide and unprofessional comment during an interview. That’ll put me on the right footing for our next negotiation.
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Honestly though, if EA was actively trying to fuck Respawn over they wouldn’t have given them the license to make a Star Wars game.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Zampella was part of the problem.
He might well have thought he could hurt Call of Duties sales (and he well might have).
Realistically, if everyone you deal with seems like an arsehole… maybe you’re the arsehole.
I really want to try this game out but Seeing the original Titanfall get meh reviews, and having PC servers dead within like 2 weeks of opening has me holding back. Even heard that it’s hard to find a game already on PC just days after released so I can’t bring myself to buy it. Shame since single player is said to be fantastic.
The original Titanfall got great reviews.
It remains one of the best multiplayer shooters going… it just couldn’t keep the numbers against established IPs.
Also, multiplayer audiences this gen have dropped off like it was going out of fashion.
The only games that’s really kept their numbers have been MOBAs (and even then only the top 2 or 3).
I can’t speak to the PC crowd, but I can confirm that its campaign is incredible.
The player base didn’t disappear quite that quickly for the first one. But yeah, as soon as the first DLC was released it was impossible to find a match. Good news for the sequel though, all the DLC is free so no more splitting the player base. Also by most accounts the single player is worth the price of admission alone. Still, I’m probably just gonna wait until it gets a 10hr trial on origin access, pay the $7 for one month and play through the campaign then.
I lol’d so very hard
EA: “We’re hoping we can make you fail so hard that we can buy you out and sell off your bits wholesale, while trading on whatever’s left of your name til it loses its value.”