Oh oh, should we mourn them now or....?

After years of working together on Titanfall, EA announced it has acquired series creators Respawn Entertainment.

Previously only a EA Partner with Titanfall, Respawn was founded by Jason West and Vince Zampella, two of original creators of the Call of Duty series. The two were fired by Activision after the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and after founding Respawn Entertainment signed a publishing deal with EA for the Xbox One launch title Titanfall. They followed it up with Titanfall 2 in 2016, a critical darling that didn't meet sales expectations, most likely because it released directly between the launches of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare and Battlefield 1.

During their most recent earnings call, EA reminded investors that Titanfall 2 sold below expectations, but "still sold very well," according to CFO Blake Jorgunsen. It is possible EA had been preparing investors for news of the acquisition. Respawn is currently making a Star Wars title, the next entry in the Titanfall series, and a VR title.

EA summarized the details of the acquisition:

Under the agreement, EA will pay $151 million in cash, and up to $164 million in long-term equity in the form of restricted stock units to employees, which will vest over four years. In addition, EA may be required to pay additional variable cash consideration that is contingent upon achievement of certain performance milestones, relating to the development of future titles, through the end of calendar 2022. The additional consideration is limited to a maximum of $140 million.

Sources tell us that the studio is divided about the acquisition, with many people not happy about being under a large publisher again. Separate sources have also told us that founder Vince Zampella plans to stay.



Our Take
Knowing EA's reputation for severely compromising or closing studios after acquisitions, it is easy to be scared of what this means for the future of the studio. Hopefully everything works out for the best.

Link without the shortner:

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2017/11/09/report-electronic-arts-acquires-respawn-entertainment-creators-of-titanfall.aspx

Sorry but those are blocked from here.

I thought they already owned Respawn.

Eh, good news I guess. Titanfall 2 was great and I was afraid it underperformed, but this must mean that they're happy with it. I'd totally play a Titanfall 3 if the single player campaign was on the same level as the last one.

They're dead, Jim.

So how long till EA puts them in the pit with all of the other disposed of companies that they have acquired?

Next game launch we will get the news : EA Shutters Respawn Entertainment, Creators Of Titanfall

In the best case scenario, I would imagine the possibility of one more major release from Respawn, but only if they have already started the project before the acquisition, and several minor ones, where they do some merc work for other studios, and then they'll join the graveyard.

Knew wouldn't be long until someone made this ;)

https://i.redd.it/1mzdoqkg61xz.jpg

OK.They took the red pill and now EA will show them how deep the rabbit hole goes ;).... Cheers

Doesn't matter since they will respawn. *Rimshot*

Ok, I'll see myself out. ;-)

RIP Respawn, we almost knew you well.

Never played Titanfall, but I saw some streaming footage of Titanfall 2, and it didn't look bad. The head of the studio "plans to stay" of course, he wants to milk EA for every penny before they close his studio down and buy back his stock that he's going to get for free.

Red flag if you ask me.

I would not be surprised if EA closes Respawn Entertainment in the next few years. I feel sorry for the developers :(

Maybe I'm just speculating, but with so many studios bought and closed down by EA in the past few years, It's a bit concerning.

This is bad news.

I sometimes think that Gog is the last place for "the players of a lifetime"