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The renowned publisher has secured Ben Brinkman from the creators of Apex Legends to oversee the development team at 31st Union, which is currently crafting the upcoming over-the-shoulder action-packed title known as Project Ethos.

Leadership Transition Comes After Poor Feedback

The new appointee steps into the leadership position at the development studio following the departure of former leader the ex-Sledgehammer Games executive, who was removed from his post due to Project Ethos' lackluster unveiling last autumn.

Recently, 2K president David Ismailer updated staff about this strategic move through an internal memo, which emphasized that playtesting had shown the requirement for a distinct vision.

Ismailer stated that the team is now overhauling Project Ethos with a revised focus, aiming to satisfy gamer demands.

A Pattern of Key Acquisitions

The news mirrors a similar step taken by the publisher in the summer, when they hired Rod Fergusson from Blizzard to assist with the BioShock development group.

Here is the complete content from Ismailer's memo:

Hello Everyone—

I understand you all just wrapped up your town hall - I hope you’re as thrilled as I am with the positive developments. Previously I shared you all a note, I expressed the following: “I believe in this crew. You all are some of the most motivated and talented developers we have had the chance to collaborate with - and we’re excited for that relationship to persist.”

With your dedication and flexibility, particularly over the past twelve months, you continue to prove that.

The gamer responses from last fall’s the game testing phase was informative. It affirmed the promise of a roguelike shooter but told us we still had refinements needed. It highlighted the requirement for a clearer identity.

It has been motivating to see how far you’ve come. You accepted the feedback to consideration and overhauled the title with a renewed direction - one that’s poised to achieve its promise to our players.

The belief in Project ETHOS increases every day. To further the outstanding progress you’ve made, I’m excited to introduce Ben Brinkman as the new Lead of the team. Following several months of talks, Ben starts with us on next week.

His guidance and experience in the PVP shooter genre is vast, having dedicated the past decade and a half producing and managing some of the most well-known franchises in gaming, including Call of Duty: Black Ops, and more recently, Apex Legends.

Let’s together in greeting Ben soon. We are all looking forward to keep seeing the progress of the game in the time to come.

David

Experience of the New Head

Brinkman presently holds the position of senior developer and head of production at the renowned studio for Apex Legends. Brinkman earlier worked at Treyarch and Activision in diverse development positions on the Call of Duty series, and, prior to that, had stints at other industry leaders.

Game Information and Concept

Project Ethos was announced in last year together with a community playtest. Initially, 31st Union described the title as a "no-cost, 3rd-person action-packed experience and an thrilling advancement on the genre."

"Build your perfect run—or die trying—in this 3rd-person action shooter! Customize your character in live gameplay to suit your personal playstyle," the official summary reads. "Take on the rivals with fresh skills, risks, and obstacles that change every session. Do you withdraw carefully with your valuable rewards? Alternatively take a risk, risk it all, and trust your team can earn top ranking? The decision is yours."

The game lacks an announced release date or consoles, but players can expect more updates as production continues.