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2K Games has secured Ben Brinkman from Respawn Entertainment to direct the studio crew at 31st Union, which is currently working on the upcoming third-person action-packed title known as Project Ethos.

Leadership Transition Follows Poor Response

The new appointee assumes the role of studio head at the development studio following the departure of former leader Michael Condrey, who was reportedly let go due to the game's disappointing initial reveal last autumn.

Recently, the company's top executive David Ismailer notified employees about this organizational change through an official communication, which stressed that playtesting had shown the requirement for a distinct direction.

Ismailer expressed that the team is now reimagining Project Ethos with a revised vision, aiming to satisfy player expectations.

A Pattern of Strategic Hires

This announcement follows a comparable action taken by 2K Games in the summer, when they recruited an industry veteran from the Diablo team to assist with the BioShock development group.

Below is the complete message from the president's communication:

Dear Team—

I understand you all just wrapped up your gathering - I trust you’re as enthusiastic as I am with the recent updates. Previously I sent you all a message, I expressed the following: “I believe in this crew. You all are some of the most driven and creative creators we have had the opportunity to work with - and we’re looking forward for that collaboration to continue.”

With your dedication and adaptability, particularly over the past twelve months, you repeatedly show that.

The community feedback from last fall’s Project ETHOS demo was informative. It confirmed the appeal of a roguelike shooter but told us we still had work to do. It uncovered the requirement for a more distinct identity.

It’s been inspiring to see how far you’ve progressed. You took the input to consideration and revamped Project ETHOS with a refreshed direction - one that’s poised to achieve its potential to our audience.

Our confidence in Project ETHOS grows every day. To advance the remarkable development you’ve made, I am thrilled to welcome Ben Brinkman as the latest Director of the team. After several months of discussions, he starts with us on Monday, October 20.

His management and experience in the PVP shooter genre is vast, having dedicated the past decade and a half creating and managing some of the most recognizable franchises in gaming, such as Call of Duty: Black Ops, and more recently, Apex Legends.

Please join me in greeting Ben in the coming days. We are all looking forward to keep observing the development of the game in the time to ahead.

David

Background of the New Head

The appointee presently serves in the role of executive producer and production lead at Respawn Entertainment for Apex Legends. He earlier was employed at Treyarch and Activision in multiple development positions on the iconic franchise games, and, earlier in his career, had periods at other industry leaders.

Title Details and Vision

Project Ethos was revealed in last year together with a community playtest. Then, 31st Union described the title as a "no-cost, third-person perspective action-packed experience and an exciting evolution on the style."

"Create your ideal gameplay session—or face defeat—in this engaging over-the-shoulder adventure! Build your hero in live gameplay to match your preferred approach," the description explains. "Take on the rivals with fresh skills, challenges, and tests that evolve every round. Will you leave securely with your collected items? Or take a risk, gamble everything, and pray your team can achieve the highest spot? The decision is up to you."

The game has not yet received an official debut schedule or consoles, but fans can look forward to additional details as development progresses.