The renowned publisher has secured Ben Brinkman from the creators of Apex Legends to oversee the studio crew at their internal studio, which is currently working on the upcoming third-person roguelike extraction-shooter known as Project Ethos.
Leadership Shift Comes After Mixed Feedback
Brinkman takes on the leadership position at 31st Union following the dismissal of former leader Michael Condrey, who was removed from his post due to Project Ethos' disappointing initial reveal last autumn.
Recently, 2K president a key figure informed employees about this decision through an official communication, which highlighted that early feedback sessions had shown the need for a more defined direction.
Ismailer expressed that the developers is now reimagining the project with a renewed focus, aiming to address community desires.
A Pattern of Strategic Acquisitions
This announcement follows a similar action taken by 2K Games in the summer, when they hired an industry veteran from Blizzard to contribute to the BioShock studio Cloud Chamber.
Here is the full message from Ismailer's communication:
Hello Everyone—
I know you all just finished your town hall - I trust you’re as enthusiastic as I am with the good news. Previously I shared you all a update, I mentioned the following: “I am confident in this team. You all are some of the most dedicated and innovative developers we have had the pleasure to partner with - and we’re looking forward for that collaboration to continue.”
Given your hard work and flexibility, particularly over the last year, you repeatedly show that.
The community feedback from last autumn’s the game testing phase was informative. It validated the potential of a action-packed game but indicated we still had refinements needed. It highlighted the requirement for a sharper identity.
The progress is encouraging to see how far you’ve progressed. You accepted the input to consideration and reimagined the title with a refreshed direction - one that’s positioned to achieve its ambition to our fans.
Our confidence in this project grows every day. To further the outstanding advancement you’ve made, I’m excited to welcome Ben Brinkman as the latest Studio Head of 31st Union. After several months of talks, he officially joins us on the specified date.
Ben’s leadership and background in the PVP shooter space is vast, having devoted the recent years producing and overseeing some of the most popular franchises in gaming, including Call of Duty: Black Ops, and most recently, Apex Legends.
Let’s together in welcoming him next week. We are all eager to keep observing the development of the game in the time to follow.
David
Experience of the Incoming Leader
The appointee presently holds the role of executive producer and production lead at Respawn Entertainment for Apex Legends. Brinkman previously was employed at major gaming companies in diverse production roles on the Call of Duty series, and, before that, had assignments at other industry leaders.
Game Details and Vision
Project Ethos was announced in last year in conjunction with a public demo. Initially, the developers portrayed the title as a "free-to-play, 3rd-person action-packed experience and an exciting step forward on the style."
"Create your ideal gameplay session—or face defeat—in this engaging over-the-shoulder adventure! Build your hero in real-time to match your preferred approach," the official summary explains. "Take on the rivals with fresh skills, stakes, and challenges that change every session. Do you safely extract with your valuable rewards? Or aim high, put it on the line, and trust your squad can earn top ranking? The decision is yours."
Project Ethos does not have an announced debut schedule or supported systems, but players can expect additional details as creation continues.
