EA Responds to Criticism of Titanfall 2 Releasing So Closely to Battlefield 1

Titanfall 2 released this past Friday, October 28, and received much praise from critics. Despite the glowing reviews, analysts believe the shooter's sales will be "substantially disappointing" because of it releasing a week after Battlefield 1 and a week before Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.

In today's earnings call, EA CEO Andrew Wilson was asked if he'd do things differently in the future and refrain from releasing future shooters so closely to each other. Wilson said that while Battlefield 1 and Titanfall 2 "have some overlap," they "fulfill very different motivations in what a player is looking for."

"We think there's really three types of players," Wilson said. "People that really love Battlefield and that kind of big strategic gameplay that will orient in that direction; the player that loves the fast, fluid, kinetic gameplay of Titanfall 2 that really orient in that direction; and the player that just has to play the two greatest shooters this year and will buy both.

"And again, we're very very excited about the quality in both titles," he continued. "We believe they both will have a long sale cycle, both this quarter through the festive season and deep into the years to come.

"And so as we think about the long game on this, we couldn't be in a better position for what we think is delivering great games to a very, very big player base."

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Wilson also noted that Titanfall 2's plan to provide free DLC maps and modes "is receiving really positive feedback." EA CFO Blake Jorgensen said that the publisher plans to work with developer Respawn Entertainment on building the Titanfall franchise "for many, many years to come," noting there's "huge opportunity" to continue expanding it.

"Part of the strategy of building a franchise is you have a long view," Jorgensen explained. "You think about the business differently than you might an existing franchise like a FIFA or a Madden. What that means is we're looking for ways to not fragment the player base early, but to include [as many players] as we can to continue to build that franchise. We think that's the right strategy for a product like Titanfall."

Titanfall 2 received a score of 9/10 in GameSpot's review. Critic Mike Mahardy concluded, "In many ways, Titanfall 2 feels like the game Respawn should have made in 2013. It's a fantastic sequel. It's a fluid shooter. It's a spectacular game."