Titanfall 2

Titanfall 2 launched Oct 28, 2016 to acclaim with a free-DLC commitment (delivered: maps, modes, Frontier Defense), but EA released it one week after its own Battlefield 1 and one week before Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare — a publisher decision, not Respawn's. Post-launch content was strong through 2017, then years of neglect: DDoS attacks made multiplayer nearly unplayable from ~2019, and a 2021 security-vulnerability panic was met with terse denials. In September 2023, out of nowhere, an official patch fixed matchmaking, added the 'Attack on Titanfall' mode, and revived rotating playlists — player counts nearly hit the all-time peak. The game is playable again, but no roadmap or commitment followed the quiet fix.

• EA — not Respawn — sandwiched Titanfall 2's launch between Battlefield 1 (Oct 21, 2016) and Infinite Warfare (Nov 4, 2016); EA CEO Andrew Wilson dismissed cannibalization concerns on the earnings call.
• Years of DDoS attacks (from ~2019) left multiplayer nearly unplayable while Respawn focused on Apex Legends; a 2021 security panic was met with denial, not a fix.
• September 2023 surprise patch fixed matchmaking, added 'Attack on Titanfall' and revived rotating playlists — player counts neared the all-time Steam peak.
• No durable commitment followed: the fix was done quietly with no official announcement, and years of neglect before it cost the game most of its player base.