Respawn Entertainment’s mech first person shooter Titanfall 2 has seen a surge of players on Steam; 750% in two days.
As previously reported, Apex Legends was revealed to be getting Titanfall themed content in its next season. This included new playable character Kairi Imahara– the daughter of Viper from Titanfall 2– and the return of Ash (albeit with players tasked with rebuilding her head, and her desire to bring her underground deathmatches into Apex Legends).
UPDATE:
While the Legacy season launches May 4th for Apex Legends, more attention was drawn to it thanks to Polygon. An initially erroneous article stated Kairi’s father and possibly died in the Apex Games (he died during the events of Titanfall 2, with Apex Legends taking place 15 years after), and that antagonist Kuben Blisk had killed Viper (it was protagonist Jack Cooper. but Kairi believes it was Blisk).
Respawn Entertainment themselves pointed out the errors in the article on Twitter, and recommended Polygon check their sources, and play the game. While promoting the game on Steam (on April 21st), Polygon also updated their article with corrections.
Original article continues below:
Both of these may be behind an interesting boost in Titanfall 2 players. As reported by VGC, the new attention on the game combined with a 75% off Steam sale on April 15th has seen the active players on Steam rise by over 750% over two days.
According to SteamDB, the game had 1,563 active players on April 14th; leaping to almost 17,000 on April 25th (Editor’s Note: This rise was still a dramatic increase even before Respawn Entertainment’s tweet to Polygon). This beats even the all-time Steam peak of over 13,600 players on June 28th, 2020.
Despite high praise from players and critics alike [1, 2, 3], the game’s October 26th, 2016 launch date doomed it to “substantially disappointing” sales according to industry analysts. This would be thanks to it being sold between Battlefield 1, and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.
Electronic Arts later confirmed the game did not meet sales expectations. They had aimed for it to sell 9 to 10 million units in its first year; while Morgan Stanley proposed the game had sold 4 million as of January 2017.
Respawn Entertainment CEO Vince Zampella told GameSpot in 2017 “The game was successful, it sold well, but it didn’t quite sell as well as it should have. Maybe because it was super-crowded, the pricing was aggressive–it was a rough window to launch our game.”
The 75% off for Titanfall 2‘s Ultimate Edition on Steam is still active for the next hour as of this time of writing.
You can find the abridged rundown (via Steam) below.
Call down your Titan and get ready for an exhilarating first-person shooter experience in Titanfall® 2! The sequel introduces a new single player campaign that explores the bond between Pilot and Titan. Or blast your way through an even more innovative and intense multiplayer experience – featuring 6 new Titans, deadly new Pilot abilities, expanded customization, new maps, modes, and much more.
KEY FEATURES
- Experience a captivating single player story. Titanfall® 2 features a single player campaign packed with action and inventive twists. Play as a Militia rifleman stranded behind enemy lines, who encounters a veteran Vanguard-class Titan. The two must work together to uphold a mission they were never meant to carry out.
- Enjoy multiplayer action that’s second to none. The sequel gives players more of the adrenaline-fueled multiplayer combat they’ve come to expect from the franchise. Take the fast-paced, first-person action to the next level with more Titans, deadlier Pilot abilities, and much more. And be sure to stand out in the middle of all the chaos with new, expanded Pilot, Titan and loadout personalization options!
Titanfall 2 is available on Windows PC (via Steam), PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
