Titanfall Expedition DLC Announced By Respawn, New Modes Explained

Respawn Entertainment announced the first DLC for Titanfall today at PAX East. Expedition, slated for a May release, will add new battlegrounds to the multiplayer shooter.

The Expedition Pack includes three new maps. "Swampland" is set in a marsh filled with alien ruins. Players can wall-run along the trees above. "Runoff" is set in a similar environment that Respawn says will feature plenty of water and pipes. War Games is based on the training simulator where Pilots learn the ropes.

These maps will continue the storyline of the main Titanfall campaign. Respawn didn't provide many details on the plot. I'm going to gaze into my crystal ball here and guess that the story centers around six Pilots from the Militia fighting six Pilots from the IMC, though.

Expedition is one of the three premium DLC packs planned for the game. Each will cost $10 to download. Players can also spring for the $24.99 Season Pass to get all three at a discount.

Respawn also has free content in the works, though. During the PAX East panel, they reiterated that they're going to release new game modes for no additional charge. They may also release temporary modes called "rifts or variants" that put a twist on existing match types. These rifts/variants would then be available for a week or so. If they're well-received by players, they could become permanent additions to the game. In other words, they're like the feature modes for League of Legends or the Lab from the Uncharted series.

Titanfall's free DLC will also include new features based on player feedback. Players will be able to customize their Titans with decals to give them some individuality. In a nod to YouTubers, Respawn will also give players the ability to hide the game's HUD while recording video. The developers also plan to add daily challenges and rankings to give competitive players something to strive for. Players will even be able to join each others' games using hashtags.

Finally, Respawn plans to add more burn cards. I'm surprised they didn't mention new weapons or abilities but I guess burn cards are the easiest to add to the mix. Because they're consumable, they're less likely to throw the game's balance out of whack.

Titanfall launched on Xbox 360 earlier this week. It's been available for Xbox One and PC since March. Respawn didn't mention any platform-specific details today. Presumably the new content will be available on all platforms simultaneously, though.

Respawn hasn't released any screenshots or gameplay footage from the Expedition DLC yet. However, they did share this one piece of art via Twitter. It's said to be based on the "Swampland" map: