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The renowned publisher has secured Ben Brinkman from Respawn Entertainment to direct the studio crew at 31st Union, which is currently developing the upcoming third-person action-packed title known as this innovative game.

Leadership Change Comes After Poor Response

Brinkman steps into the leadership position at the development studio following the dismissal of previous head Michael Condrey, who was removed from his post due to Project Ethos' underwhelming unveiling last autumn.

On Wednesday, 2K president David Ismailer updated team members about this organizational change through an internal memo, which stressed that playtesting had shown the necessity for a distinct game identity.

The president stated that the developers is now refining the project with a revised vision, aiming to satisfy player expectations.

A Pattern of Strategic Recruitment

This announcement echoes a comparable move taken by 2K Games in August, when they hired Rod Fergusson from the Diablo team to contribute to the BioShock development group.

Here is the full content from Ismailer's communication:

Dear Team—

I understand you all just wrapped up your meeting - I trust you’re as enthusiastic as I am with the positive developments. Last time I sent you all a message, I stated the following: “I am confident in this group. You all are some of the most dedicated and talented creators we have had the pleasure to collaborate with - and we’re eager for that collaboration to persist.”

Through your commitment and flexibility, especially over the past twelve months, you continue to prove that.

The player input from last fall’s Project ETHOS demo was informative. It affirmed the promise of a action-packed game but made clear we still had improvements to make. It revealed the requirement for a sharper identity.

It’s been inspiring to see how far you’ve progressed. You took the input to mind and reimagined the title with a refreshed vision - one that’s poised to achieve its potential to our fans.

The trust in Project ETHOS increases every day. To advance the remarkable advancement you’ve made, I’m excited to introduce Ben Brinkman as the new Studio Head of 31st Union. Following some time of discussions, he officially joins us on next week.

His management and experience in the competitive gaming space is vast, having spent the past decade and a half developing and managing some of the most popular series in gaming, such as Call of Duty: Black Ops, and lately, Apex Legends.

Let’s together in greeting Ben next week. We are all looking forward to persist seeing the development of the game in the weeks to ahead.

The President

Background of the New Head

The appointee presently holds the role of executive producer and production lead at the renowned studio for Apex Legends. Brinkman previously was employed at major gaming companies in multiple production roles on the iconic franchise series, and, prior to that, had periods at other industry leaders.

Title Details and Vision

Project Ethos was revealed in October 2024 alongside a community playtest. At the time, the developers presented the title as a "free-to-play, third-person perspective roguelike hero shooter and an innovative advancement on the category."

"Create your ideal gameplay session—or face defeat—in this engaging over-the-shoulder adventure! Build your hero in real-time to fit your unique tactics," the official summary reads. "Face the rivals with fresh skills, stakes, and tests that shift every match. Do you safely extract with your valuable rewards? Or go big, gamble everything, and pray your squad can secure victory? The decision is up to you."

Project Ethos lacks an announced debut schedule or platforms, but players can look forward to additional details as production progresses.