Respawn has brought the Capture the Flag (CTF) game mode back to the PC version of Titanfall in response to player backlash, according to a news post on titanfall.com.

“The reality is that less than 1% of the player base was even trying to play CTF” states the news post. Given that statistic, Respawn thought it best to remove the game mode entirely, which wasn’t seeing enough activity to let players into games: “Our matchmaking [system] would just sit there, spinning forever.”

However, the Titanfall playerbase wanted the game mode back, and community feedback was higher than Respawn thought it would be.

“After that first step [of removing broken playlists], though, it’s obvious that lots of people were upset – far more than the player counts on the removed modes led us to believe.”

CTF is now back for those PC gamers that want to play it, and now the mode will search a wider region of players to fill games. “If you’re searching for five minutes without starting a game, Stryder [Respawn’s server software] will eventually widen your search to include neighboring continents,” meaning players will find CTF games more quickly than before, but they might have latency issues.

Respawn is also working towards more balancing options, so CTF games won’t start with lopsided teams. They also plan on tracking CTF-related information such as mic usage to better improve the game mode.

“Beyond this, we’re working on new game modes, riffs on existing game modes, Hashtag matchmaking, and more. We plan to keep the playlist selection of Titanfall fresh and fun, with engaging new ways to play and switch-ups to old favorites.”

My Opinion

What kind of company actively takes away something from a product you purchased? I’m trying to understand the statistical reason for removing a game mode, but the idea itself is hard to leap over. Those who bought Titanfall expected CTF because that game mode was on the back of the box. To remove CTF from the product is just…terrible.

I’m glad it’s back, but this is really an example of how little power the individual player has in regards to digital, online-only products.

I don’t trust the lot of em: EA or Respawn.