Released a mere four months after the launch of the Xbox One, Titanfall was positioned as one of the first major releases of this hardware generation. It’s been over two years since that launch, and Respawn Entertainment has finally released the first trailer for Titanfall 2. This time around, it’ll be released on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC while featuring a full single-player campaign. By all accounts, this follow-up seems rather ambitious, but will it be able to deliver a better experience than the previous installment?
If you enjoyed Respawn’s first game, there’s a lot to be excited about. The new trailer features giant mech swords, we’ve been promised a real single-player story, and this franchise is coming to the PS4 for the first time. However, there’s a good reason to remain skeptical for the time being: performance.
The Xbox One version of Titanfall ran at 792p, and the frame rate fell well short of a locked 60fps. And while Respawn continued to push updates to improve the performance, Digital Foundry found that the frame rate still occasionally dropped into the 30s even after five months worth of patches. Even on the PC, some pretty big compromises were made upon release.
In all fairness, Titanfall 2 will be launching under very different circumstances. Not only have the dev-tools matured on the current consoles, but the financial success of the first game gives the studio quite a bit more breathing room. And even if we only see minor technical improvements, there’s a good chance this sequel will outperform the first game. Add in the PS4’s beefy user base, and the sales potential here is massive.
Of course, this trailer was just the tip of the iceberg. Respawn will be revealing more about this release on June 12 — almost certainly during the EA Play event being held in Los Angeles and London. We’re only a few months away from the full-scale unveiling, so we’ll just have to sit on our questions and concerns until then.
If this Titanfall 2 news doesn’t get your motor running, worry not. It appears that Respawn is also working on some other projects as well. We can expect to see some sort of Titanfall-themed mobile game later this year, and a job posting confirmed that the studio is working on a completely new third-person shooter. Considering the pedigree of Respawn’s staff, it’s safe to assume that whatever they end up releasing will at least make you raise an eyebrow.