10 "Next Big Thing" Video Games That Completely Flopped

7. Titanfall

Titanfall 2
Respawn Entertainment

When the directors of Infinity Ward branched off from Activision to create their own studio Respawn Entertainment at EA, fans spent the next few years anxiously wondering what their new game would be.

And to rapturous applause at E3 2013, the studio revealed what it had been working on since shipping Modern Warfare 2 back in 2009: Titanfall.

Retaining the same addictive shooting mechanics as CoD, Titanfall also put an emphasis on freedom of movement and the interplay between regular gunplay and mech-based combat. The trailer offered a first glimpse at what first-person shooters would look like going into the next generation, and fans were hyped.

Sadly, Respawn made two vital mistakes during the development of Titanfall that doomed it entirely. The first was making the title multiplayer only and losing the deep progression system that had become a staple of online first-person shooters. The second, and perhaps most damning, was siding with Microsoft and being an Xbox One exclusive.

The limited player base and lack of content meant that the game quickly fell off the radar, and although it did influence the genre, other games that stole its mechanics have since gone on to become more popular than Titanfall ever was.

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.