EA reportedly axes singleplayer ‘Apex Legends’ game

Electronic Arts (EA) has cancelled development of a new game based on the Apex Legends and Titanfall series.

A report by Bloomberg cited three sources who claimed that the singleplayer by Respawn Entertainment is no longer in development.

Codenamed Titanfall Legends, the game, which hadn’t been publicly announced, was reportedly set in the shared Apex/Titanfall universe.

Bloomberg‘s report added that sources claimed that the game was being directed by Mohammad Alavi until his departure from the studio in 2022.

Alavi teased on Twitter what may well have been the game in question in July 2021. “We’re developing a brand new singleplayer adventure from Respawn Entertainment,” he wrote. “We’re a small, but ambitious team with a history of dreaming big and making splashes.”

We’re developing a brand new singleplayer adventure from Respawn Entertainment. We’re a small, but ambitious team with a history of dreaming big and making splashes. Come work with us:https://t.co/UCeYwarI6khttps://t.co/Qeonc5IzfGhttps://t.co/rKxhtgXFiUhttps://t.co/rNaI4zoq0J pic.twitter.com/g0zgQVUS4D

— Badmofo | Mohammad Alavi (@iambadmofo) July 22, 2021

The game director’s LinkedIn page, as noted by PC Gamer, also indicates the same, saying he was “creative director on a brand new singleplayer adventure from Respawn Entertainment” prior to this departure. Alavi spent 10 years at Respawn as narrative design lead and design director on Apex Legends before that, and nearly seven years before that as a senior designer on Titanfall.

Despite the claims made in Bloomberg‘s report, Alavi never revealed the nature of the project he was working on, and Respawn never confirmed anything.

Job listings at Respawn from 2022 namechecked the Apex Universe FPS Incubation Project, describing it as “a brand new Respawn singleplayer adventure.”

Apex Legends, the free-to-play hero shooter, was released in 2019 and was built out of the Titanfall (2014) setting. As such, some fans understandably hoped that Respawn was trying to hide that a new Titanfall game was in development, but the mention of “Apex Universe” in the job postings suggested a cross-world link.

NME has reached out to EA for comment.

Elsewhere in the Bloomberg report, there were claims that around 50 people were working on the game when it was shut down and that EA will attempt to move some of them to other positions at the company. Those who cannot be placed elsewhere will see their positions made redundant.

In related news, Respawn, which is owned by EA, recently announced that the mobile version Apex Legends that launched last year will no longer exist after May 1, 2023.

Explaining the decision, Respawn cited “factors beyond our control” that “have prevented us from maintaining the high-quality experience and content that players deserve”.

The game will be shuttered 90 days from yesterday’s announcement (4pm PST / 7pm EDT on May 1; midnight BST on May 2 in the UK).

EA has also confirmed the cancellation of Battlefield Mobile and has delayed Star Wars Jedi: Survivor by six weeks in order to hit developer Respawn’s “quality bar”.