9 Reasons The Odds Were Stacked Against Titanfall 2
2. The ‘Tech Test’
Whether you call your multiplayer beta a demo, a preview, a trial, or a tech test, it’s all the same thing – a chance for you to run a large scale test on your servers and game balance choices, and a chance for players to try out your game for free. A good beta builds hype.
Titanfall 2 did not have a good beta. Critically, the people it flopped with were existing fans. It made three core mistakes. First, the player’s titan meter didn’t tick up over time, but exclusively through performance. It made titans rarer – in fact, it was possible to play a match without getting one at all, which was unheard of in the original. The fact they were also easier to kill compounded the problem.
Second, the maps weren’t great. The tech test’s battlegrounds offered central clusters of buildings surrounded by wide open space, losing some of the empowering urban playground feel of the original. And third, there was no sign of Attrition, Titanfall’s very popular core gameplay mode.
Titanfall 2 fixes those flaws, offering Attrition mode, great maps, and a titan meter that builds through time and performance. For many, however, the game had already lost their faith.