Uploaded May 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
AAA first-person shooters used to be the gold standard in gaming. Titanfall 2, Halo 3, even Modern Warfare 2—these games had heart, innovation, and replay value that kept people hooked for years. But the recent cancellation of Respawn’s rumored Titanfall-themed extraction shooter says it all: the genre has lost its way. Instead of building great games for a clear audience, big studios are chasing trends—extraction shooters, battle passes, live-service models—and more often than not, it leads to games that feel soulless and bloated. Meanwhile, smaller teams are crushing it. Expedition 33 is a $50 gem. Embark Studios (the team behind The Finals) is working on ARC Raiders, another extraction shooter—but one that actually looks like it has heart and vision. In this video, I unpack why AAA FPS games feel so creatively bankrupt, why players are gravitating toward Steam and smaller devs, and what the genre needs to get back on track. Plus, I’ll share a clip from the latest Dual Comm podcast where Epos and I dig into this exact topic.
00:00 – Titanfall’s Canceled Again – And It Hurts
01:25 – Why AAA FPS Games Keep Chasing the Wrong Trends
03:44 – EA Layoffs & the Cost of Bloated Development
06:15 – Shorter Timelines Could Save FPS—If They’re Done Right
13:52 – Can AAA FPS Games Actually Recover?
15:19 – Is There Hope? Where the Genre Goes From Here
Subscribe to @EposVox and @lostsaves
Check out the full episode of the Dual Comm Podcast Here: youtu.be/nv0ZzzEyevM
AAA first-person shooters used to be the gold standard in gaming. Titanfall 2, Halo 3, even Modern Warfare 2—these games had heart, innovation, and replay value that kept people hooked for years. But the recent cancellation of Respawn’s rumored Titanfall-themed extraction shooter says it all: the genre has lost its way. Instead of building great games for a clear audience, big studios are chasing trends—extraction shooters, battle passes, live-service models—and more often than not, it leads to games that feel soulless and bloated. Meanwhile, smaller teams are crushing it. Expedition 33 is a $50 gem. Embark Studios (the team behind The Finals) is working on ARC Raiders, another extraction shooter—but one that actually looks like it has heart and vision. In this video, I unpack why AAA FPS games feel so creatively bankrupt, why players are gravitating toward Steam and smaller devs, and what the genre needs to get back on track. Plus, I’ll share a clip from the latest Dual Comm podcast where Epos and I dig into this exact topic.
00:00 – Titanfall’s Canceled Again – And It Hurts
01:25 – Why AAA FPS Games Keep Chasing the Wrong Trends
03:44 – EA Layoffs & the Cost of Bloated Development
06:15 – Shorter Timelines Could Save FPS—If They’re Done Right
13:52 – Can AAA FPS Games Actually Recover?
15:19 – Is There Hope? Where the Genre Goes From Here
Subscribe to @EposVox and @lostsaves
Check out the full episode of the Dual Comm Podcast Here: youtu.be/nv0ZzzEyevM
