It can be easy to forget that Respawn Entertainment’s Apex Legends takes place in the same universe as Titanfall. One is a first-person shooter with a focus on multiplayer (and a surprisingly good single-player mode in the sequel), while the other is a free-to-play battle royale. There is also a significant lack of 20 foot-tall mechas in Apex, which is a pretty major feature of Titanfall. According to some files recently discovered through datamining though, it’s at least possible Titans could be be making an appearance in Apex Legends soon.
Dataminer that1miningguy discovered several strings in game files that hint towards Titans making an appearance in Apex Legends. Within the files that1miningguy reviewed, several strings were discovered with the “_outlands” tag. One of these tags, “npc_titan_outlands,” seems to suggest a Titan as an NPC. Also listed with the outlands tag are strings for other NPCs called Spectre, Stalker, and Frag Drone.
This is interesting to me because I cannot remember seeing the specific strings for these NPCs that included the _outlands tag. (Not saying Titans for Apex… but maybe something PVE related regarding them?) pic.twitter.com/ulTPRDjOoF
— That1MiningGuy (@that1miningguy) May 23, 2020
Within the Titanfall series there are non-playable characters called Spectres and Stalkers. These NPCs exist to fill out multiplayer matches and make the games feel larger than they are. While the discovered strings do not confirm Titans are on their way, they do hint towards a PvE event that may tie Apex closer to the Titanfall series.
How likely is an Apex Legends / Titanfall crossover?
This isn’t the first time Respawn Entertainment has teased Titanfall-related items in Apex Legends. The Charge Rifle, an anti-Titan energy weapon, was previously teased in concept art. Titans are a hot topic for Apex Legends players, but in an interview with IGN last year, executive producer Drew McCoy shot down their inclusion.
“We prototyped approximately a bazillion ways of having Titans in this game,” said McCoy. “The reality was, they were an incredible unbalancing factor. That goes back to the goals of Titans in Titanfall and Titanfall 2. They were meant to be a giant power-up for a period of time. Whereas battle royale games, and specifically Apex Legends, are trying to be a much more level playing field.”
Respawn Entertainment could be ramping up to a new major PvE event for Season 5. Major changes have come to Apex Legends lately, with Mirage getting a pretty neat buff and the latest hero Loba shaking up the game. Make sure to follow Daily Esports for all your Apex Legends news, leaks, and updates.
