While Apex Legends has proven to be quite popular, some fans of the Titanfall franchise have expressed disappointment that Respawn has been working on a battle royale spinoff instead of Titanfall 3. However, it seems that the release of Apex Legends has actually been good for the Titanfall brand, as its popularity has directly correlated with an increase of players in Titanfall 2's online multiplayer modes.

As pointed out by ResetEra user Nefer, Titanfall 2's number of active online players has seen a bump across all platforms since the release of Apex Legends. The player count has more than doubled from about 1,500 on PC to averaging 3,400, whereas the number of active players on PS4 increased from around 2,000 players to almost 5,000.

The Xbox One version of Titanfall 2, meanwhile, seems to be enjoying the biggest boost from Apex Legends. Whereas the game was typically average 2,000 to 3,000 players, it's now surpassed 10,000 active players. Of course, this is still a relatively low number of players compared to other big shooters, but since Titanfall 2 is a nearly three year old game that notoriously undersold, it's still pretty impressive.

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While Apex Legends lacks some Titanfall trademarks like wallrunning and Titans, playing the game is still reminiscent of playing as a Titanfall pilot. It seems that this has given players an appetite for Titanfall 2, as perhaps Apex Legends is making them feel nostalgic for the over-the-top action of the Titanfall games.

Fans of the Titanfall universe hungry for more will be happy to learn that Apex Legends isn't the only new game in the franchise. Respawn has a premium Titanfall game on deck for 2019, though more details on that project are unavailable at this time. Whether or not it's a traditional Titanfall experience remains to be seen, but we do know that it's not Titanfall 3.

Considering the fan backlash Apex Legends suffered at first for not being Titanfall 3, it's nice to see that the game has actually had a positive impact on the Titanfall brand. Maybe its success can convince EA to let Respawn move forward with a full-fledged Titanfall 3 at some point in the future.

Apex Legends is out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Source: ResetEra