Apex Legends is a solid battle royale game, but I can’t shake the feeling that its creation was dictated by Respawn’s new owners: Electronic Arts. In the process, the studio’s soul could be lost, forced to play follow-the-leader like so many other of EA’s other development teams.
With little warning, Titanfall developer Respawn Entertainment and Electronic Arts released Apex Legends, adding yet another game into the ever-growing pool of battle royale shooters. Rather than start from scratch with a new franchise, Respawn took the bones of Titanfall and morphed it into something similar to Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’s Blackout mode.
Don’t get me wrong. Apex Legends is a well-designed and engaging game with some of the best shooting controls around, but I can’t shake the feeling that EA has already started tightening its grasp on Respawn – and the studio could lose its soul in the process.
Prior to late 2017, Respawn Entertainment was an independent studio contracted with Electronic Arts to develop Titanfall and its sequel. Whether this independence had any effect on Respawn’s design philosophy is only known by the people who worked there, but its games seemed to sidestep the trends of Electronic Arts’ other multiplayer titles.
In Titanfall 2, there were no paid map packs or modes, with the community staying together after the initial $60 asking price. Its campaign delivered a satisfying and creative series of missions, and its online multiplayer managed to feel unique with its mix of ground-based combat and giant Titans.
When Electronic Arts and Respawn announced the studio’s acquisition, Respawn CEO Vince Zampella told VentureBeat that the studio was “still Respawn” and that it was “going to make the same games [it] made before, hopefully better.”
At the time, Respawn confirmed that it was working on a Titanfall project, and it appears that this was a now-shelved Titanfall 3. If Kotaku is correct, the pivot to free-to-play Apex Legends occurred after the studio was purchased. On paper, it makes sense. The most profitable game in the world, Fortnite, uses the same approach, but Respawn’s case isn’t so cut-and-dried.
