2K Games has welcomed Ben Brinkman from the creators of Apex Legends to direct the studio crew at 31st Union, which is currently developing the upcoming third-person roguelike extraction-shooter known as Project Ethos.
Leadership Shift Follows Poor Response
The new appointee assumes the role of studio head at 31st Union following the dismissal of previous head the ex-Sledgehammer Games executive, who was removed from his post due to Project Ethos' disappointing early showing last fall.
Recently, the company's top executive David Ismailer updated team members about this organizational change through an official communication, which stressed that playtesting had revealed the requirement for a clearer direction.
Ismailer expressed that the team is now reimagining Project Ethos with a revised vision, aiming to better meet gamer demands.
Trend of Key Acquisitions
This announcement follows a comparable action taken by 2K Games in the summer, when they recruited Rod Fergusson from the Diablo team to contribute to the beloved franchise studio Cloud Chamber.
Here is the complete content from Ismailer's memo:
Hello Everyone—
I understand you all just finished your gathering - I trust you’re as excited as I am with the positive developments. Previously I shared you all a note, I stated the following: “I believe in this team. You all are some of the most motivated and talented developers we have had the chance to work with - and we’re looking forward for that relationship to persist.”
With your dedication and versatility, particularly over the last year, you continue to prove that.
The player input from last fall’s the game playtest was informative. It validated the promise of a roguelike shooter but made clear we still had improvements to make. It uncovered the requirement for a clearer brand.
It has been motivating to see how far you’ve come. You took the feedback to heart and overhauled the title with a renewed vision - one that’s poised to deliver on its ambition to our audience.
The belief in this project strengthens every day. To boost the remarkable advancement you’ve made, It is a pleasure to introduce Ben Brinkman as the latest Lead of the team. After some time of talks, Ben comes aboard us on next week.
His leadership and experience in the PVP shooter genre is considerable, having dedicated the past decade and a half producing and leading some of the most well-known franchises in the industry, including the acclaimed shooter, and most recently, Apex Legends.
I invite you all in greeting Ben soon. We are all excited to continue witnessing the development of Project ETHOS in the weeks to ahead.
The President
Experience of the New Head
Brinkman presently serves in the position of senior developer and head of production at Respawn Entertainment for their flagship title. He earlier was employed at Treyarch and Activision in various development positions on the Call of Duty games, and, earlier in his career, had periods at other industry leaders.
Title Information and Concept
Project Ethos was announced in last year together with a community playtest. At the time, 31st Union described the game as a "no-cost, 3rd-person action-packed experience and an exciting step forward on the style."
"Build your perfect run—or die trying—in this 3rd-person action shooter! Build your hero in real-time to fit your unique tactics," the game's pitch states. "Challenge the rivals with new abilities, stakes, and challenges that shift every round. Will you safely extract with your valuable rewards? Alternatively aim high, put it on the line, and trust your team can achieve the highest spot? The choice is yours."
The game does not have an confirmed debut schedule or platforms, but players can anticipate more updates as creation continues.
