Titanfall dev Respawn will have more than 1 game in 2019

Titanfall studio Respawn is working on a new Star Wars game for publisher Electronic Arts. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is due out before the end of 2019, but now EA is telling investors to expect more from Respawn.

During an earnings conference call with analysts and stockholders today, EA chief executive officer Andrew Wilson referenced Respawn as one of the reasons the company is so excited for the future. He did this during his prepared remarks, which is a quarterly ritual where the CEO does some cheerleading for their company while providing some basic insight. But when he mentioned Respawn, he noted that the studio is going to have more than one game before next holiday.

Here’s how the statement reads from the prepared remarks, which you can find on EA’s website.

“Across multiple studios, we have new projects underway,” said Wilson. “[That includes] games from Respawn that are slated to launch by next holiday season.”

You’ll notice that he used the plural form of the word “games.” That would suggest the studio will have more than just Jedi: Fallen Order out for the gift-giving holidays next year. Well, you’re note the only one who noticed that phrasing. One of the analysts on the call with EA asked if Wilson did that deliberately or if he made a mistake.

In response, EA chief financial officer Blake Jorgensen teased that it was an intentional inclusion.

“You heard Andrew say ‘games’ plural in regards to Respawn,” Jorgensen said. “Consider that a little Easter egg left in the conference call.”

What are we getting and when?

It’s important to note that EA cannot lie or mislead investors during one of these calls. That would open it up to litigation for misrepresenting the truth to investors. You can ask Elon Musk how that goes. But Jorgensen ended the call by fielding another question about Respawn. Specifically, an analyst asked when we can expect more information.

“We’ll have more to come on that,” said Jorgensen. “We’ll brief people on that as we get into the [fiscal] fourth quarter.”

So EA is essentially teasing another Respawn related announcement due out during its fiscal Q4. That takes place during the spring and early summer and happens to include June. That’s when the Electronic Entertainment Expo trade show takes place each year in Los Angeles.

EA tends to make announcements outside of E3, however, so expect some news before that massive industry event.

Titanfall 3, please?

But news of what? EA, Wilson, and Jorgensen didn’t provide any hints about that. It’s possible that the studio could have the third entry in the Titanfall franchise. Titanfall 2 debuted in October 2016, and it is still one of the best games I’ve ever played. You would expect a Titanfall 3 to come along at some point. The series has never had the sales of a Battlefield or Call of Duty, but EA acquired Respawn for $455 million in November 2017. So it likely would want to give the studio a chance to earn back some of that investment.

At the same time, it’s possible that EA has Respawn working on something new or even a mobile game. Respawn has done work in mobile before, and that would make sense instead of launching to large games from the same studio in a sixth-month period.

No. Seriously. Titanfall 3

But I still lean toward Titanfall 3. EA probably won’t have a Star Wars: Battlefront game next year, and Jedi: Fallen Order is more like a God of War, according to sources close to the development. The publisher also won’t have a new Battlefield ready in time for 2019 (and it wouldn’t want to with its plans for live services for Battlefield V). That creates an opportunity to launch a new shooter for the holidays. On top of that, we know that the Respawn team working on Jedi: Fallen Order is not the same exact team that worked on Titanfall 2. So it’s likely that the development house has worked on both games in parallel.

Finally, if Titanfall 3 does launch next year, EA could give it the chance to succeed that it denied to its predecessor. The publisher released Titanfall 2 right between Battlefield 1 and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. And it couldn’t break through that noise. Activision probably has a new Call of Duty coming next year, but with no Battlefront or Battlefield, Titanfall 3 could standout for people looking for an alternative blockbuster shooter.

Although, who knows. Fortnite might have killed all other games by then.