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2K Games has appointed Ben Brinkman from Respawn Entertainment to lead the studio crew at 31st Union, which is currently working on the forthcoming third-person roguelike extraction-shooter known as Project Ethos.

Management Transition Follows Lukewarm Feedback

Brinkman takes on the role of studio head at 31st Union following the exit of previous head Michael Condrey, who was removed from his post due to the game's disappointing initial reveal last fall.

On Wednesday, 2K president David Ismailer updated staff about this strategic move through an official communication, which emphasized that playtesting had shown the requirement for a clearer game identity.

The president expressed that the team is now reimagining Project Ethos with a refreshed approach, aiming to satisfy player expectations.

A Pattern of Key Hires

This announcement mirrors a similar action taken by 2K Games in the summer, when they hired Rod Fergusson from the Diablo team to work on the BioShock development group.

Below is the complete message from Ismailer's announcement:

Hello Everyone—

I understand you all just wrapped up your meeting - I trust you’re as excited as I am with the good news. Last time I shared you all a note, I stated the following: “I am confident in this crew. You all are some of the most driven and innovative designers we have had the pleasure to collaborate with - and we’re excited for that relationship to endure.”

Given your hard work and flexibility, especially over the past twelve months, you continue to prove that.

The gamer responses from last autumn’s Project ETHOS testing phase was informative. It confirmed the potential of a roguelike shooter but made clear we still had improvements to make. It uncovered the requirement for a clearer identity.

It’s been inspiring to see how far you’ve come. You embraced the feedback to heart and overhauled the title with a revitalized vision - one that’s positioned to achieve its ambition to our fans.

The trust in this project increases every day. To further the incredible development you’ve made, I am thrilled to announce the new hire as the incoming Director of 31st Union. After a period of discussions, Ben starts with us on the specified date.

His leadership and background in the PVP shooter genre is vast, having dedicated the past decade and a half creating and overseeing some of the most well-known titles in gaming, for example Call of Duty: Black Ops, and more recently, the battle royale hit.

Please join me in receiving him in the coming days. We are all eager to keep observing the progress of the game in the months to follow.

The President

Experience of the Incoming Head

Brinkman currently holds the role of senior developer and production lead at Respawn Entertainment for Apex Legends. Brinkman earlier worked at major gaming companies in diverse production roles on the Call of Duty series, and, before that, had periods at other industry leaders.

Title Information and Concept

The upcoming game was unveiled in last year together with a community playtest. At the time, the developers portrayed the game as a "no-cost, third-person perspective roguelike hero shooter and an exciting advancement on the genre."

"Build your perfect run—or die trying—in this 3rd-person action shooter! Build your hero in live gameplay to match your preferred approach," the official summary explains. "Challenge the opponents with unique powers, risks, and obstacles that evolve every session. Will you withdraw carefully with your valuable rewards? Or aim high, risk it all, and trust your team can achieve the highest spot? The option is yours."

Project Ethos does not have an confirmed debut schedule or consoles, but enthusiasts can look forward to additional details as production continues.