Titanfall 2 has touched down and made colossal waves. With an 89 Metascore, it is currently the most well-rated first-person shooter of the generation. Although everything seems to be going its way, some gamers are doubting its stamina.
As many gamers can attest to, the first Titanfall was a short-lived experience. During the few weeks that it topped sales charts it dominated the conversation. But no matter how polished and exciting it was, player retention became a problem heading into the Summer of 2014. This was particularly a problem on PC where it was reported that fewer than 1,000 players were queued for a match at any given time just weeks after launch. Today, it's effectively dead.
Titanfall's falloff is particularly surprising when you consider how well it sold. It's confirmed to have sold more than 10 million copies across just two platforms, and without any single-player modes to speak of, all 10 million of its install base has been ushered to the multiplayer environment.
When you consider that Titanfall 2 has arrived in the middle of the Fall video game blaze in-between Battlefield 1 and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, it's understandable that analysts are saying that its sales will be "substantially disappointing".
EA begs to differ. It believes that Titanfall as a franchise is just getting started, and has incredible potential. It's invested heavily in a marketing campaign, invested development resources wisely given the game's tremendously positive reception, and to top it all off it announced this week that all future Titanfall 2 DLC maps and modes will be offered free of cost.
EA's move to provide free post-release content is one that makes its game a much better value proposition than its primary competitors. Fans of Battlefield 1 are already complaining about how the game has clearly had some weapons and equipment stripped from the base game only to be sold in upcoming packages. Meanwhile, Call of Duty has routinely been one of the worst offenders of post-release monetization.
The thing is, EA has published both Battlefield 1 and Titanfall 2. It knows that Battlefield 1 will be successful, so all it needs to do is grow Titanfall as a brand. This year is more ripe for such an opportunity than ever before given that Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare has received a wealth of negative press from several major YouTubers in addition to over three million dislikes on its reveal trailer, a record that it isn't proud of.
The industry has evolved to become one that is dominated by established IPs, but is yearning for new ideas. Consumers want something new, and while they haven't necessarily voted with their wallets in many cases, they've been very vocal about it.
On that note, Titanfall 2 is something with a new angle on first-person shooters. Its Titans are exciting, its single-player campaign is arguably the best of the current generation, and it's gameplay fundamentals are as crisp and smooth as we've ever seen.
The true test of Titanfall 2's legacy will be how it holds up in the long run. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare will pose a significant challenge, backed by an even larger marketing campaign and an established eSports presence. But Titanfall 2 has momentum and won't divide its community with paid DLC, a huge part of the equation.
Titanfall 2 doesn't need to kill Call of Duty. All it needs to do is eat into its market share and earn positive mindshare. In that regard, it's already made a huge positive step and is on its way to accomplishing its mission.
