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2K Games has secured Ben Brinkman from Respawn Entertainment to oversee the studio crew at their internal studio, which is currently crafting the forthcoming over-the-shoulder action-packed title known as this innovative game.

Management Change Follows Mixed Response

The new appointee assumes the leadership position at 31st Union following the exit of previous head the ex-Sledgehammer Games executive, who was reportedly let go due to Project Ethos' disappointing initial reveal last fall.

On Wednesday, the company's top executive a key figure informed staff about this strategic move through an internal memo, which highlighted that early feedback sessions had shown the necessity for a clearer direction.

Ismailer expressed that the team is now refining the project with a refreshed focus, aiming to better meet community desires.

Trend of Key Hires

The news mirrors a similar action taken by the publisher in the summer, when they recruited an industry veteran from the Diablo team to work on the BioShock studio Cloud Chamber.

Below is the complete content from the president's memo:

Dear Team—

I understand you all just completed your town hall - I trust you’re as excited as I am with the positive developments. Last time I sent you all a note, I stated the following: “I am confident in this team. You all are some of the most dedicated and talented developers we have had the opportunity to partner with - and we’re excited for that collaboration to endure.”

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

The community feedback from last autumn’s Project ETHOS demo was revealing. It confirmed the promise of a roguelike shooter but made clear we still had improvements to make. It highlighted the need for a clearer identity.

The progress is encouraging to see how far you’ve progressed. You embraced the input to consideration and reimagined Project ETHOS with a renewed vision - one that’s ready to achieve its potential to our fans.

Our confidence in this project increases every day. To boost the incredible advancement you’ve made, It is a pleasure to welcome the new hire as the latest Lead of 31st Union. Following some time of talks, Ben starts with us on next week.

His guidance and experience in the competitive gaming genre is vast, having spent the last 15 years creating and managing some of the most recognizable titles in the industry, including Call of Duty: Black Ops, and most recently, the battle royale hit.

Please join me in welcoming him soon. We are all looking forward to continue witnessing the progress of Project ETHOS in the time to come.

The President

Experience of the Incoming Leader

Brinkman presently serves in the role of senior developer and production lead at Respawn Entertainment for Apex Legends. Brinkman earlier worked at Treyarch and Activision in various development positions on the iconic franchise series, and, prior to that, had periods at 2K and Electronic Arts.

Title Information and Vision

The upcoming game was announced in October 2024 in conjunction with a community playtest. Initially, 31st Union presented the game as a "no-cost, third-person perspective roguelike hero shooter 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 game's pitch reads. "Face the competition with new abilities, risks, and tests that evolve every session. Do you safely extract with your hard-earned loot? Or take a risk, put it on the line, and pray your group can achieve the highest spot? The choice is in your hands."

The game lacks an official debut schedule or platforms, but fans can look forward to more updates as development progresses.