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The renowned publisher has welcomed a seasoned producer from the creators of Apex Legends to direct the development team at 31st Union, which is currently developing the anticipated third-person roguelike extraction-shooter known as this innovative game.

Management Shift Comes After Mixed Feedback

Brinkman takes on the leadership position at 31st Union following the dismissal of previous head Michael Condrey, who was reportedly let go due to the game's underwhelming initial reveal last fall.

Recently, 2K president David Ismailer notified employees about this decision through an official communication, which highlighted that early feedback sessions had shown the need for a clearer game identity.

Ismailer expressed that the team is now overhauling Project Ethos with a revised focus, aiming to satisfy gamer demands.

Trend of Strategic Recruitment

The news echoes a comparable step taken by 2K Games in August, when they hired an industry veteran from the Diablo team to contribute to the beloved franchise studio Cloud Chamber.

Here is the complete message from the president's memo:

Hello Everyone—

I understand 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 note, I mentioned the following: “I believe in this crew. You all are some of the most driven and creative designers we have had the opportunity to partner with - and we’re looking forward for that relationship to continue.”

Given your hard work and flexibility, particularly over the past twelve months, you consistently demonstrate that.

The player input from last autumn’s Project ETHOS playtest was enlightening. It confirmed the promise of a roguelike shooter but made clear we still had improvements to make. It uncovered the requirement for a sharper vision.

The progress is encouraging to see how far you’ve advanced. You took the feedback to mind and revamped Project ETHOS with a refreshed vision - one that’s ready to achieve its promise to our players.

The trust in Project ETHOS grows every day. To advance the incredible advancement you’ve made, I am thrilled to introduce Ben Brinkman as the latest Studio Head of the team. Following some time of conversations, he comes aboard us on next week.

His leadership and expertise in the PVP shooter space is vast, having spent the recent years developing and managing some of the most well-known titles in gaming, such as the acclaimed shooter, and most recently, Apex Legends.

Please join me in greeting him in the coming days. We are all excited to keep observing the development of the game in the weeks to ahead.

David

Experience of the Incoming Head

Brinkman presently holds the role of executive producer and head of production at the renowned studio for their flagship title. Brinkman previously was employed at Treyarch and Activision in multiple development positions on the iconic franchise series, and, before that, had periods at 2K and Electronic Arts.

Title Details and Vision

Project Ethos was unveiled in last year in conjunction with a early access event. Initially, 31st Union presented the title as a "free-to-play, 3rd-person action-packed experience and an innovative advancement on the genre."

"Create your ideal gameplay session—or face defeat—in this engaging over-the-shoulder adventure! Customize your character in real-time to match your preferred approach," the official summary explains. "Take on the competition with new abilities, risks, and tests that change every match. Will you safely extract with your valuable rewards? Alternatively take a risk, risk it all, and hope your team can achieve the highest spot? The decision is yours."

Project Ethos has not yet received an official debut schedule or supported systems, but enthusiasts can look forward to further news as production advances.