Canceled Apex Legends Game Wasn't Titanfall 3, But Would Have Featured Everyone's Favorite Titan

On today's episode of Giant Bomb's Game Mess Mornings Podcast, host Jeff Grubb and co-host Jan Ochoa discussed the apparent cancellation of Respawn's single-player Apex Legends title, citing a report by VGC. But Grubb had even more information on the title, giving players an idea of what the game would have looked like had it launched. Known only by its working title, Titanfall Legends, Grubb revealed that although the game "would not be Titanfall 3," it would still include a beloved character from the franchise: Jack Cooper's loyal titan, BT-7274.

According to Grubb, the single-player adventure was planned to feature Apex Games Commissioner Kuben Blisk as a playable character, with various Apex Legends characters making appearances and lending their powers to the player. Major details from the Titanfall franchise--like the location of the Ark, for example--would have also played a part in the campaign.

Titanfall Legends was reportedly helmed by former Apex Legends narrative lead Mohammad Alavi--perhaps best known as the architect behind Modern Warfare's "All Ghillied Up" level--until he left the company in January 2022. According to Grubb, Titanfall Legends players would once again pilot and fight alongside BT-7274 (often referred to as simply "BT" in Titanfall 2), using Rampart's workshop to repair and upgrade him. This makes sense, given the fact that Rampart and Blisk are on good terms in Apex Legends, and Rampart is also responsible for resurrecting and rebuilding another titan. In Season 9, it was revealed that Rampart repaired and repurposed Northstar, the titan belonging to Valkyrie's late father. Titanfall Legends would have seen Rampart using similar methods to bring BT back online after his "death" at the end of Titanfall 2.

"The thinking there was that more people have played Apex Legends than have ever heard of Titanfall, so they were really going to lean into that," Grubb explained, before going on to reveal that the game's developers were going for a "John Wick meets Tony Hawk" gameplay experience, while also taking inspiration from Doom Eternal. Other Titanfall gameplay staples, like wallrunning, were also planned to be a part of the game. The project's cancellation was reportedly announced internally by EA on Wednesday.

As for the reasoning behind the game's cancellation, Grubb cited Respawn's repeated changes of leadership.

"When Mohammad Alavi left, it was doomed," Grubb declared. "I've looked into this. The Apex Legends community has really looked into this. If you go look at the makeup of Respawn these days, it seems like a lot of key players that founded that studio have left. Like, the vast majority.”

Respawn has yet to officially acknowledge the game's cancellation, despite announcing the cancellation of both Apex Legends Mobile and Battlefield Mobile earlier this week.

Apex Legends is free to play on console and PC. A mobile version of the game, Apex Legends Mobile, is available for download on Android and iOS devices, but will sunset on May 17, 2021.