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The renowned publisher has appointed a seasoned producer from Respawn Entertainment to oversee the studio crew at their internal studio, which is currently developing the forthcoming over-the-shoulder action-packed title known as Project Ethos.

Leadership Shift Comes After Poor Response

The new appointee takes on the leadership position at 31st Union following the exit of previous head Michael Condrey, who was removed from his post due to the game's disappointing unveiling last autumn.

On Wednesday, 2K president David Ismailer notified team members about this strategic move through an internal memo, which stressed that playtesting had revealed the need for a distinct vision.

The president expressed that the developers is now refining the project with a refreshed approach, aiming to better meet player expectations.

Trend of Key Recruitment

The news echoes a comparable action taken by the publisher in the summer, when they hired Rod Fergusson from the Diablo team to work on the beloved franchise development group.

Below is the entire content from the president's communication:

Hello Everyone—

I know you all just wrapped up your town hall - I trust you’re as excited as I am with the recent updates. Last time I sent you all a update, I mentioned the following: “I am confident in this team. You all are some of the most driven and creative creators we have had the chance to partner with - and we’re eager for that relationship to persist.”

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

The player input from last fall’s Project ETHOS testing phase was revealing. It validated the promise of a roguelike shooter but made clear we still had improvements to make. It uncovered the requirement for a sharper brand.

It has been motivating to see how far you’ve progressed. You embraced the criticism to mind and reimagined the title with a renewed vision - one that’s positioned to deliver on its ambition to our players.

The trust in this project increases every day. To boost the incredible advancement you’ve made, I am thrilled to introduce the new hire as the new Lead of 31st Union. After some time of talks, he comes aboard us on the specified date.

Ben’s management and background in the PVP shooter space is vast, having devoted the past decade and a half developing and overseeing some of the most popular series in the industry, for example Call of Duty: Black Ops, and lately, Apex Legends.

Let’s together in greeting Ben next week. We are all looking forward to persist witnessing the development of Project ETHOS in the time to follow.

David

Experience of the New Head

The appointee currently serves in the position of executive producer and head of production at the renowned studio for their flagship title. Brinkman earlier worked at Treyarch and Activision in various development positions on the iconic franchise games, and, before that, had stints at 2K and Electronic Arts.

Title Details and Concept

The upcoming game was announced in October 2024 alongside a community playtest. Initially, the developers described the title as a "no-cost, 3rd-person action-packed experience and an innovative step forward on the genre."

"Build your perfect run—or die trying—in this 3rd-person action shooter! Build your hero in real-time to suit your personal playstyle," the description reads. "Challenge the rivals with fresh skills, stakes, and challenges that change every round. Will you safely extract with your collected items? Alternatively go big, risk it all, and hope your group can secure victory? The choice is up to you."

The game lacks an announced debut schedule or consoles, but players can look forward to more updates as creation advances.