It seems like no matter how many years go by, Call of Duty remains one of the biggest releases every year. Thousands of gamers have complained about how redundant it is, some websites have slammed it with sub-average reviews, and even then it continues to easily dwarf the 10 million sales mark every time it tries.
The biggest problem is that Activision hasn't faced serious competition in a long time. Games like Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege in 2015 and Destiny in 2014 might have sold well, but weren't direct competitors. Many of those who bought either of these games ended up buying Call of Duty as well.
Frankly, EA is tired of it, and this year it went all-in for an attempt to make a dent in Call of Duty's numbers. The debut of Battlefield 1 during early October came as no surprise, serving as a formidable albeit predictable competitor. It was the release of Titanfall 2 only two weeks later that has many perplexed.
EA CEO Andrew Wilson shared today during an investor call that the company anticipated shooter fans would buy either Battlefield 1, Titanfall 2, or both. When expanding on this, it appeared that EA's strategy this Fall season is okay with Battlefield 1 or Titanfall 2 not performing up to par provided that the sum of its parts is a success. More specifically, as long as these two games together are able to eat away at Call of Duty's numbers, EA's ground game is a success.
It's a move that has so far cost Titanfall 2 in a big way. Debuted to remarkably positive reception everything about the game screams a 9+ million copy seller as was forecast; it's extremely fun in short spurts, has a phenomenal campaign, can be competitively appetizing, has lots of unlocks to earn, and is beautiful in motion. But the sheer overcrowding of this four week period ranging from Battlefield 1's launch to Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare and its bundled remaster has made sell-through a difficult task.
For Titanfall 2 players like myself, this means smaller player pools and in many cases fewer friends to play with. The PC community has been remained at under 10,000 active players at prime time on any given night, a figure that falls significantly behind what Call of Duty calls to action every year.
The original Titanfall sold millions of copies in a way that is rarely encountered in modern gaming. It showed all the promise that any company would hope to see from a new IP, and then some. And for all intents and purposes, Titanfall 2 is the perfect sequel; it improves upon the foundation in ways that range from gameplay polish to new ways to play. Apparently timing and marketing are bigger factors.
We won't know if this was a good move until Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare hits the market and we know how well it sells. What we do know is that it currently holds a surprising number of pre-orders, and many gamers who would traditionally be disinterested have been won over by its Legacy Edition which includes the Modern Warfare Remaster. Titanfall 2 has a tough road ahead, and we can only hope that its free DLC becomes a part of the equation at some point.
