Details have dropped on the nature of Titanfall’s development, thanks to the release of ebook Last Hours of Titanfall. It’s compelled some writers to share details on the game’s development. If we could sum up Titanfall development in one word, it would be turbulent.
The game was being conceived in 2010, when Vince Zampella and Jason West were mired in a large corporate lawsuit involving EA, Activision, and Infinity Ward. This lawsuit came about just as Zampella and West founded their own company, Respawn.
While the company was making Titanfall, there was a segment of Respawn which had to deal with the lawsuit directly. It divided the company in such a way that a wedge was driven between those who dealt with the game, and those who dealt with the lawsuit, including West himself.
After the lawsuit was settled, the atmosphere remained tense in the company. Finally, West left, not only to care for his ailing mom, but because his relationship had soured with everyone in Respawn.
Another element of Titanfall’s development that may surprise is regarding how it ended up becoming a Microsoft exclusive. We know that Respawn did not intend it to be this way, and that EA signed a deal with Microsoft behind their back. What we don’t know then is that Sony was a player in this as well.
While Microsoft was aggressive at approaching Respawn for Titanfall early on, Sony was pushing them away when they approached. The message Sony sent to Respawn was that they were not ready to talk about it, although they did have ideas, such as bringing the game to the Vita. There was a point where they had told Sony that the situation would be ‘locked in behind the scenes’, but Sony once again did not respond.
At a certain point, Respawn (Zampella and West at this point) explained to EA’s John Riccitiello that they had run out of funding. They had just enough staff to bring the game to Xbox One and PC, and even then they had to delay the game and cut single player. EA did the work of shuffling around for funding, and finally found it in Microsoft. As a result, Titanfall became a Microsoft exclusive.
It needs to be emphasized here that at the final hour, it was Microsoft that saved the project. We also know that since then, EA and Respawn plan to open up future Titanfall games to more platforms. If Microsoft had not stepped up to the plate, though, the game would have not even been made.
Before we sum things up, it should also be pointed out that this latter account does sound contrary to Sony's own reckoning of how they sought out developer feedback in creating the PS4. It should be interesting if Cerny or Yoshida spoke out regarding this story. If it does turn out to be true, something may be going on in Sony that we aren't aware of. As for the reliability of this story, you can read the original ebook, and make your own judgements on the reliability of its author, Geoff Keighley. You can learn more about The Final Hours Of Titanfall on its official site.
