Titanfall 2 Sales Lower Than Expected, EA Admits

It is not a big surprise given EA's previous comments, but the company has now officially acknowledged that Titanfall 2 did not sell up to the publisher's expectation.

EA CFO Blake Jorgensen said during an earnings call this week that the game sold fewer copies than the company anticipated. However, he did not share a specific unit sales number. Don't expect the company to ever share this information, either, as EA is backing away from talking about unit sales.

CEO Andrew Wilson added that EA has a "great relationship" with developer Respawn. He added that EA anticipates that Titanfall 2 will sell for a long time, due in part to its high quality.

Also during the call, Wilson was asked for details about why Titanfall 2 underperformed. One analyst firm said the game's October 28 release date--which was sandwiched between Battlefield 1 (October 21) and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (November 4)--would lead to "substantially disappointing" sales. Wilson said he underperformance might not be the right word for Titanfall 2. He pointed out that Battlefield 4 had a slow start but went on to sell millions of copies over time.

"So, the way we think about Titanfall, is that we have what is one of the best games of this year, and certainly one of the best games in this generation of consoles, in what is this year's largest category," Wilson said (via SeekingAlpha). "And we've got a development team who have unbelievable pedigree and a commitment to continue to support the community, and we expect to continue to grow that community through the coming fiscal year."

EA remains "committed" to the Titanfall series, Wilson went on to say, and there are plans for more Titanfall 2 content this year. But, as Respawn founder Vince Zampella said last year, it still remains to be seen if Titanfall 3 will happen.

Last year, EA management suggested Titanfall 2 initial sales were not great, with the company saying it is taking a long-term approach to the game instead of focusing on first-day or first-week sales.

In other news, the Titanfall mobile game, Frontline, has been canceled.

For more on EA's newest earnings report, check out the stories below:

• Star Wars, Mass Effect, Battlefield, NBA: Here's Everything We Learned From EA's Earnings Call
• Star Wars Battlefront 2 Has Single-Player Campaign, Content From Multiple Star Wars Eras
• BioWare Launching Its New Action Franchise By April 2018