Electronic Arts has reportedly canceled an in-developmentRespawn Entertainmentsingle-player game set in theApex LegendsandTitanfalluniverse. The launch ofApex Legendsproved to be a major shift forRespawn Entertainment’s development focus, as it left behind itsTitanfallsingle-player/multiplayer titles in favor of the successful battle royale. Respawn has since proven its single-player talents are worth supporting withStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, but EA may not be fully persuaded.Reports of a new single-player game being worked on at Respawn that wasn’t part of itsongoingStar Warsprojectsbegan to be shared in 2022. Job listings for what was referred to as an “Apex Universe FPS Incubation Project” began to pop up. A departing developer later confirmed that they had been contributing to Respawn’s “single-player Apex universe game.” An official announcement that the game was in development was never made, however.RELATED:Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Gets Hit with DelayBloomberg’s Jason Schreier is now reporting that EA has canceled theunannouncedApex Legendssingle-player game. No explanation for the cancelation was provided, though the report does note EA is making cuts following a “disappointing outlook” for the current financial quarter. The project’s codename is said to beTitanfall Legendsand it was started under the direction ofCall of Duty,Titanfall, andApex Legendsveteran Mohammad Alavi, who left Respawn in early 2022.
Around 50 developers were working on theApex Legendssingle-player game at the time of its cancelation. The report indicates that EA will try and find positions for these developers on other projects, but that those that the publisher is unable to accommodate will be provided severance packages and laid off. In other words, this isn’t just the cancelation of a single game but also the end of an effort to build another single-player-focused team at Respawn.
Respawn Entertainment has been an unfortunate focus for EA’s recent cuts. The publisher is alsoclosing down Respawn’sApex Legendsmobile port. Given Respawn’s overall success, both withApex Legendsand its single-playerStar Warsefforts, it’s surprising to see EA choose to focus on the studio for cuts. It certainly implies that EA isn’t confident inApex Legends' future and is pulling back from future investment.
The news will be especially disappointing to fans of the twoTitanfallgames. While bothTitanfallandTitanfall 2were not incredibly successful projects, at least compared toApex Legends, they have a devoted fanbase that has beenasking forTitanfall 3for years. Even if the newly canceledApex Legendssingle-player title was only loosely tied toTitanfall, it would certainly have been warmly embraced by this community. Regardless, bothApex LegendsandTitanfallfans will almost certainly begin pushing for anotherRespawnsingle-player title with renewed vigor.
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