EA is committed to Titanfall 2, but Respawn doesn't know what that means

There has been much handwringing over whether EA should have released Titanfall 2 at the same time as two other much-bigger shooters . As the underdog between Battlefield 1 and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, most armchair industry analysts think the move was stupid. I'm tempted to agree, though EA defended itself last month, saying that Titanfall 2 and Battlefield 1 appeal to different FPS fans. 

Nevertheless, analysts and early sales reports don't paint a great picture for Respawn's shooter. The studio's Drew McCoy said the scheduling was locked in ages ago, but now Vince Zampella has sounded off vaguely about the game's awkward position, in an interview with Glixel.

Asked whether there might be a new Titanfall game, Zampella is uncertain. "We don't know yet. The game is, critically, a huge success. We're really happy with all the reviews and the positive sentiment. Sales, it's too early to tell. We'd definitely like to tell more of the story and the universe. I think it's pretty safe to assume that we'll explore more of it."

Zampella then deferred to an EA publicist, who repeated the phrase that the publisher is "committed to the franchise". The Respawn head responded, "so, whatever the fuck that means?"

Did Zampella say this while smiling and giving the publicist a jovial shoulder punch? Or did he say it with his jaw clenched and steam spewing from his ears? The tone isn't really specified in the piece, but if everyone's suspicions are true and EA's scheduling of the game really did put it at a disadvantage, then maybe Zampella has a fairly good reason to be miffed. As a fan of Titanfall 2 who yearns for a huge and enduring playerbase to compete against, I can't say I blame him.