Titanfall 2 Receives First Major Update In Years, Apex Patch Notes Easter Egg May Be Related
After being all but abandoned for the last few years, Titanfall has finally received a major update--and a curious shout-out in recently released Apex Legends patch notes.
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The update itself includes fixes to matchmaking an improved server stability, making Titanfall 2 playable for the first time in years. Additionally, after eight years, Titanfall 2 private matches have been taken out of beta (which isn't too shocking, as Apex Legends players gained access to the private match feature earlier this year). New and old game modes have been added as well, and have been rotating ever since the update went live last week. The 1v1 Coliseum mode got a similar update, with new weapons added and weapon loadouts rotating regularly once again. Changes to map geometry, fixed glitches, and remedied out-of-bounds exploits have also been addressed by the massive update, but perhaps the most interesting map feature is the addition of small Nessie plushies (Apex's mascot) holding hammers, which have appeared in areas of the maps that were recently fixed. This may be a reference to Respawn's recent announcement revealing devs had banned over 2,000 cheaters from Apex Legends. With Titanfall 2's servers finally functional again, it's possible that some players also received a whack from the banhammer.
Until last week's update, Titanfall 2 was more or less unplayable, and has been since 2021 due to relentless DDOS attacks by frustrated players of the original Titanfall game. Respawn failed to fully stabilize the game, and many fans were frustrated to learn that Respawn had assigned only "one or two" devs to oversee the game and keep it in a playable state, especially since the DDOS attacks on Apex Legends (which started at the same time as the attacks on Titanfall 2) were resolved in under 24 hours.
Respawn has also sent mixed messages regarding the franchise's future, hinting at future Titanfall content in one breath, then claiming players wouldn't be seeing Titanfall 3 anytime soon. Then came reports that the studio was working on a single-player game set in the Apex Legends universe (the same universe in which the Titanfall series is set). Unfortunately, those reports were then followed by the news that the game, code-named Titanfall Legends, had been canceled.
Players were obviously disappointed by the cancellation of Titanfall Legends, and while this Titanfall 2 update certainly doesn't confirm we'll be seeing Titanfall 3 anytime soon, the fact that Titanfall 2 is currently available on Steam at a massive 90% discount does seem to imply that Respawn is trying to drum up more interest in its recently resurrected mech shooter. The appearance of Nessie in Titanfall 2 also suggests that Respawn is paying more attention to the franchise--and its connection to Apex Legends. Tucked away the very bottom of Apex's Harbinger Collection Event patch notes is a curious Easter egg that makes Nessie's sudden appearance in Titanfall 2 seem a bit more significant:
"Incoming Transmission…. Subject: Nessie….
1394521200
1477638000
1549267200"