On October 28, 2016 Respawn Entertainment and Electronic Arts (EA) bestowed a blessing upon the world of first-person shooter gaming. In 2021, the phenomenon is being reborn as the player base is resurrected from the tedium of Call of Duty and Battlefield’s delusions of grandeur. Titanfall 2’s predecessor, Titanfall (2014), brought freerunning, a form of parkour which includes maneuvers such as wallrunning and sliding, into the mainstream and stole the limelight. Respawn Entertainment’s success with the implementation of freerunning was made apparent when similar game designs were adopted by the Call of Duty franchise in Treyarch’s Black Ops 3 a year later. 

Since the release of Titanfall 2 its success has been somewhat overshadowed by Respawn Entertainment’s newer title Apex Legends. Apex Legends came on the scene almost as a response to the growing popularity of battle royal games such as Fortnite and PlayerUnknown’s BattleGrounds (PUBG). Over time the Titanfall 2 fan base began to deteriorate, and the game became less relevant. However, dedicated Titanfall 2 fans took to the internet in a massive meme campaign intended to revive the fanbase and bring improved matchmaking to the multiplayer lobbies. 

On May 1, gamers and meme lords returned to Titanfall 2 for a day of competitive first-person shooter action. The grass-roots movement caught Respawn Entertainment’s attention, and the company announced on April 30 via Twitter that they were making the game free to play through May 3rd. 

Fans of the Titanfall franchise were motivated to enter the Titanfall 2’s lobbies during this time by the idea that it would incentivize Respawn Entertainment to begin working on, or announce, Titanfall 3. So far, Respawn Entertainment has announced that they are working on a new game which takes place in the Titanfall and Apex Legends universe, but says it will not be released under the name Titanfall 3. In any case, Titanfall 2’s matchmaking lobbies have seen a noticeable uptick in activity. For any gamers who enjoyed playing Titanfall 2 in the past, this is your call to arms. By playing Titanfall 2 en masse we can show Respawn Entertainment that what we want is more Titanfall games. BT- 7274 gave everything for us. Now it’s time to return the favor. Godspeed, gamers.