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The renowned publisher has welcomed Ben Brinkman from the creators of Apex Legends to direct the development team at their internal studio, which is currently developing the forthcoming over-the-shoulder roguelike extraction-shooter known as this innovative game.

Leadership Shift Follows Poor Reception

Brinkman assumes the role of studio head at 31st Union following the exit of previous head Michael Condrey, who was removed from his post due to Project Ethos' underwhelming initial reveal last fall.

On Wednesday, 2K president a key figure informed employees about this decision through an internal memo, which emphasized that playtesting had indicated the need for a more defined direction.

The president expressed that the developers is now overhauling Project Ethos with a revised approach, aiming to better meet gamer demands.

A Pattern of Strategic Hires

This announcement echoes a comparable step taken by the publisher in the summer, when they brought on an industry veteran from the Diablo team to work on the BioShock development group.

Below is the full content from the president's memo:

Hello Everyone—

I know you all just completed your town hall - I trust you’re as excited as I am with the recent updates. Previously I shared you all a update, I stated the following: “I am confident in this team. You all are some of the most driven and innovative designers we have had the opportunity to partner with - and we’re looking forward for that collaboration to continue.”

Through your commitment and adaptability, particularly over the last year, you repeatedly show that.

The gamer responses from last fall’s the game demo was revealing. It affirmed the potential of a action-packed game but indicated we still had improvements to make. It highlighted the requirement for a more distinct vision.

The progress is encouraging to see how far you’ve come. You took the feedback to consideration and overhauled Project ETHOS with a revitalized goal - one that’s positioned to achieve its ambition to our players.

Our confidence in this project grows every day. To boost the remarkable progress you’ve made, It is a pleasure to introduce Ben Brinkman as the latest Lead of 31st Union. After several months of talks, he officially joins us on the specified date.

His management and background in the competitive gaming space is considerable, having devoted the recent years developing and overseeing some of the most popular series in the industry, such as the acclaimed shooter, and most recently, the battle royale hit.

I invite you all in receiving Ben next week. We are all excited to keep seeing the progress of the game in the time to ahead.

David

Experience of the New Head

The appointee currently serves in the position of executive producer and production lead at the renowned studio for Apex Legends. He previously worked at Treyarch and Activision in multiple development positions on the iconic franchise series, and, earlier in his career, had periods at other industry leaders.

Title Information and Vision

Project Ethos was announced in October 2024 together with a community playtest. At the time, the developers portrayed the title as a "no-cost, third-person perspective action-packed experience and an exciting advancement on the category."

"Create your ideal gameplay session—or face defeat—in this engaging over-the-shoulder adventure! Build your hero in live gameplay to fit your unique tactics," the game's pitch states. "Take on the competition with unique powers, stakes, and obstacles that shift every session. Will you withdraw carefully with your valuable rewards? Alternatively take a risk, risk it all, and pray your squad can secure victory? The option is up to you."

Project Ethos has not yet received an announced launch window or supported systems, but fans can anticipate further news as development advances.