Titanfall 2 Receives First Major Update In Years, Apex Patch Notes Easter Egg May Be Related

It’s been a rough couple of years for Titanfall 2 players, but it looks like that may be about to change. After years of minimal maintenance and no new content, the game will finally receive some much-needed TLC. the release of a new game update. As this is the first major update the game has received in quite some time, Observant fans have a clear feeling that something is up.–especially after a Titanfall Easter egg was discovered in the Apex Legends patch notes that were released earlier this week.

The update itself includes fixes for matchmaking and improved server stability, making Titanfall 2 playable for the first time in years. Additionally, after eight years, Titanfall 2 private matches have been removed from the beta (which isn’t too surprising, since Apex Legends players gained access to the private matches feature earlier this year). New and old game modes have also been added, and have been rotating since the update was released last week. The 1v1 Colosseum mode received a similar update, with new weapons added and regularly rotating weapon loadouts once again. The massive update has also addressed map geometry changes, bug fixes, and out-of-bounds exploits fixed, but perhaps the most interesting feature of the map is the addition of small Nessie (Apex’s mascot) plush toys 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 that the developers had banned over 2,000 cheaters from Apex Legends. Now that Titanfall 2’s servers are finally back up and running, some players may have also taken a hit from the banhammer.

Until last week’s update, Titanfall 2 was more or less unplayable, and has been that way 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” developers to oversee the game and keep it in a playable state, especially since the DDOS attacks in Apex Legends (which began in at the same time as the attacks on Titanfall 2) were resolved in less than 24 hours.

Respawn has also sent mixed messages about the future of the franchise, hinting at future Titanfall content all at once and then stating that players won’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 takes place). Unfortunately, those reports were followed by the news that the game, codenamed Titanfall Legends, had been cancelled.

Players were obviously disappointed by the cancellation of Titanfall Legends, and while this Titanfall 2 update certainly doesn’t confirm that we’ll be seeing Titanfall 3 anytime soon, the fact that Titanfall 2 is currently available on Steam with a massive 90% discount It seems to imply that Respawn is trying to generate more interest in its recently resurrected mechanical shooter. Nessie’s appearance in Titanfall 2 also suggests that Respawn is paying more attention to the franchise and its connection to Apex Legends. Hidden at the end of Apex’s Harbinger Collection event patch notes is a curious Easter egg that makes Nessie’s sudden appearance in Titanfall 2 seem a little more significant:

“Incoming transmission… Subject: Nessie…

1394521200

1477638000

1549267200″

It didn’t take long for Twitter sleuths to decode the message, revealing that the trio of strange numerical codes represent the release dates of Titanfall, Titanfall 2, and Apex Legends, perhaps hinting that something new is on the horizon. But what could it be? Prolific Apex Legends data miner Kralrindo has an interesting take:

Several months ago, Apex’s in-game stat trackers changed. Instead of simply saying “Victories” or “Damages”, trackers now say “Apex Victories” and “Apex Damages”. Perhaps Respawn is leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for players to follow that will ultimately lead to some sort of crossover between Apex Legends and Titanfall. What exactly that crossover would look like is anyone’s guess, but one thing’s for sure: Respawn hasn’t given up on the Titanfall universe.