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The renowned publisher has welcomed Ben Brinkman from Respawn Entertainment to lead the development team at their internal studio, which is currently working on the upcoming over-the-shoulder roguelike extraction-shooter known as this innovative game.

Leadership Transition Follows Lukewarm Feedback

The new appointee takes on the role of studio head at the development studio following the dismissal 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 a key figure updated employees about this organizational change through an internal memo, which highlighted that playtesting had shown the necessity for a more defined game identity.

The president noted that the team is now reimagining Project Ethos with a revised approach, aiming to better meet player expectations.

A Pattern of Key Hires

This announcement mirrors a similar step taken by 2K Games in the summer, when they brought on Rod Fergusson from Blizzard to assist with the BioShock development group.

Here is the entire text from the president's communication:

Dear Team—

I understand you all just completed your town hall - I hope you’re as thrilled as I am with the positive developments. Last time I shared you all a note, I expressed the following: “I am confident in this team. You all are some of the most driven and creative developers we have had the opportunity to partner with - and we’re looking forward for that collaboration to endure.”

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

The player input from last autumn’s Project ETHOS demo was informative. It validated the promise of a action-packed game but told us we still had work to do. It revealed the need for a clearer identity.

It’s been inspiring to see how far you’ve advanced. You took the feedback to mind and revamped Project ETHOS with a renewed direction - one that’s positioned to achieve its ambition to our players.

The trust in this project increases every day. To boost the remarkable progress you’ve made, I’m excited to welcome the new hire as the incoming Lead of the team. Following several months of conversations, Ben officially joins us on Monday, October 20.

Ben’s guidance and expertise in the PVP shooter field is considerable, having devoted the last 15 years creating and managing some of the most well-known series in gaming, for example Call of Duty: Black Ops, and more recently, Apex Legends.

I invite you all in greeting Ben in the coming days. We are all eager to continue seeing the evolution of the game in the time to follow.

David

Experience of the Incoming Head

The appointee presently serves in the position of executive producer and production lead at Respawn Entertainment for Apex Legends. Brinkman earlier worked at major gaming companies in diverse development positions on the iconic franchise series, and, before that, had stints at 2K and Electronic Arts.

Game Details and Vision

Project Ethos was revealed in October 2024 alongside a public demo. Then, 31st Union described the title as a "no-cost, third-person perspective action-packed experience and an exciting evolution on the style."

"Build your perfect run—or die trying—in this 3rd-person action shooter! Customize your character in real-time to suit your personal playstyle," the game's pitch reads. "Face the opponents with fresh skills, stakes, and challenges that evolve every round. Do you safely extract with your hard-earned loot? Or go big, risk it all, and pray your team can earn top ranking? The option is up to you."

The game has not yet received an official release date or supported systems, but players can anticipate more updates as production advances.