Titanfall fans are crushed by EA's decision to cancel another Respawn Entertainment incubation project while implementing layoffs across its incubation, Apex Legends, Star Wars: Jedi, and EA Experience teams.

Bloomberg revealed the canceled game—codenamed R7—was a Titanfall-themed extraction shooter. While not the Titanfall 3 sequel fans wanted, many are heartbroken that Titanfall 2 remains without a follow-up after nearly ten years.

"I just collapsed to my knees at Walmart," one devastated player shared, while another simply posted: "I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE."

"How many more cancellations before they abandon Titanfall for good?" questioned another frustrated fan.

However, some see the cancellation as a positive development, believing an extraction shooter could have doomed the franchise permanently.

"This was the best possible outcome for Titanfall's future," argued one Reddit user. "A failed extraction shooter would have given executives ammunition to claim fans don't care about Titanfall anymore, ignoring the fact that nobody wanted this spin-off."

"No tears shed for a canceled extraction shooter," wrote another commenter, adding: "Good riddance to that idea."

"I'm exhausted with extraction shooters—they're repetitive and tedious. Give me fast-paced matches with wallrunning and titan combat instead of looting simulators," suggested a longtime Titanfall enthusiast.

"Initial disappointment turned to relief when I read 'extraction shooter,'" concluded another player.

The layoffs affected approximately 100 Respawn employees across development, publishing, and QA teams working on Apex Legends, plus smaller groups on Star Wars: Jedi and two canceled incubation projects—one previously reported in March, and the alleged Titanfall extraction shooter.

These cuts continue EA's recent restructuring trend. Earlier this year, BioWare saw staff reshuffled between projects and additional layoffs, building on 50 BioWare job cuts in 2023 and unspecified reductions at Codemasters. A broader 2024 restructuring eliminated 670 positions company-wide, including about two dozen at Respawn.

In 2023, reports surfaced that Respawn actively developed Titanfall 3 for ten months before shifting focus to Apex Legends.

Former Titanfall 3 narrative lead Mohammad Alavi shared with The Burnettwork that substantial progress had been made before cancellation:

"After Titanfall 2's release, we immediately began Titanfall 3 development with new technology, multiple playable missions, and a prototype matching Titanfall 2's quality—though the improvements were evolutionary rather than revolutionary."

Alavi explained two key factors behind the pivot:

"First, our multiplayer team struggled to address player burnout—while Titanfall 2's multiplayer had passionate fans, most players found its intensity unsustainable long-term."

"Second, PUBG's 2017 release sparked our team's unexpected obsession with battle royale. Our informal Titanfall-battle royale prototype became more compelling than traditional Titanfall modes—we realized we could either deliver 'Titanfall 2+1' or pursue something revolutionary."

The team independently canceled Titanfall 3 before even informing EA:

"I had just pitched Titanfall 3's complete story design with Manny Hagopian. After breaking, we unanimously agreed to scrap it for this new concept—a decision so radical EA didn't know for six months until we had a working prototype."

Alavi remains conflicted: "While I'll always mourn Titanfall 3—and consider Titanfall 2 my career highlight—canceling it for Apex Legends was absolutely the right decision."