Respawn Entertainment boss Vince Zampella has been engaged in press duties for the Star Wars Jedi: Survivor marketing cycle this week, and is likely having to field questions about the sci-fi action adventure's poor technical performance on PC and consoles alike. In an interview conducted by Barron's Magazine a few days ago, Zampella was probably relieved to have the focus shift to a happier topic - the Titanfall franchise. He seemed to be quite open to the prospect of making a third game: "I hate to say yes, then people latch onto that, and then skewer you when it doesn't come. But I would love to see it happen is the real answer." His studio was founded in order to develop the (multiplayer only) first-person shooter Titanfall (2014), a platform exclusive on PC/Origin and Xbox One. Prior to starting Respawn Entertainment in 2010, Zampella and colleague Jason West were lead designers on the mainline Call of Duty series at Infinity Ward/Activision.

A sequel to the original Titanfall arrived in late 2016 to rave reviews from the press and hardcore fans of the series - the inclusion of a single player campaign was considered to be a highlight - this story campaign borrowed gameplay ideas (to the surprise of many) from Valve's Half Life series, and added time traveling elements to an already mind-bending mobility system. In an unfortunate move for Zampella and Respawn, publisher Electronic Arts decided to launch Titanfall 2 during a very busy release window - the main competition at the time being Activision's Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare and (EA's own) Battlefield 1. A mainstream crowd proceeded to ignore the Titanfall sequel thanks to poor marketing on EA's part and a crowded games market - sales figures were underwhelming, even with a PS4 version, and the game was heavily discounted within a couple of months of release. Respawn moved on to create a spin-off multiplayer shooter - the smash hit free-to-play battle royale Apex Legends, and the Star Wars Jedi series.Titanfall fans are resigned to the fact that Respawn Entertainment (wholly owned by EA since December 2017) is committed to continuing work on more successful IPs - with the studio growing to further support Apex Legends. Zampella is guarded about the prospect of a new entry and says that his team is not "working on anything currently" directly related to Titanfall and there are "no exact dedicated plans" in development. Zampella is a very busy man nowadays with his regular shift at Respawn Entertainment as well as being tasked with steering the Battlefield franchise out of a slump chez DICE Los Angeles. It will be difficult for him to fit anything Titanfall-flavored into a multi-project schedule dictated by Electronics Arts: "It has to be the right thing...It's such a beloved franchise for the fans and also for us. If it is not the right moment in time, the right idea, then it just doesn't make sense."

Titanfall 2 is absolutely worth the $4-5 cost of entry during discount seasons, for the fantastic single player campaign alone. The multiplayer mode still attracts an active player population, but hackers have ruined aspects of the online experience and EA's official servers are reported to be unstable on PC and console platforms.