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The renowned publisher has appointed Ben Brinkman from the creators of Apex Legends to oversee the studio crew at 31st Union, which is currently working on the upcoming third-person action-packed title known as this innovative game.

Leadership Transition Comes After Lukewarm 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 the game's lackluster early showing last fall.

On Wednesday, 2K president David Ismailer notified employees about this decision through an official communication, which emphasized that playtesting had revealed the need for a more defined direction.

The president noted that the team is now refining the project with a revised focus, aiming to satisfy community desires.

A Pattern of Key Hires

The news echoes a comparable action taken by the publisher in the summer, when they recruited an industry veteran from the Diablo team to assist with the BioShock development group.

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

Dear Team—

I know you all just finished your gathering - I hope you’re as enthusiastic as I am with the recent updates. Last time I sent you all a note, I mentioned the following: “I believe in this team. You all are some of the most motivated and innovative developers we have had the chance to partner with - and we’re looking forward for that collaboration to persist.”

With your dedication and flexibility, especially over the last year, you consistently demonstrate that.

The gamer responses from last autumn’s Project ETHOS demo was enlightening. It confirmed the potential of a roguelike shooter but indicated we still had improvements to make. It revealed the necessity for a clearer vision.

It’s been inspiring to see how far you’ve advanced. You embraced the input to consideration and revamped the title with a refreshed goal - one that’s poised to achieve its ambition to our players.

The trust in Project ETHOS grows every day. To further the remarkable progress you’ve made, It is a pleasure to introduce Ben Brinkman as the new Lead of the team. Following several months of discussions, Ben starts with us on next week.

Ben’s guidance and experience in the PVP shooter field is extensive, having spent the past decade and a half creating and leading some of the most recognizable franchises in the industry, for example Call of Duty: Black Ops, and more recently, Apex Legends.

Please join me in greeting Ben next week. We are all looking forward to keep observing the progress of Project ETHOS in the weeks to come.

The President

Experience of the Incoming Head

Brinkman presently serves in the position of senior developer and production lead at Respawn Entertainment for Apex Legends. He earlier was employed at Treyarch and Activision in various development positions on the iconic franchise series, and, earlier in his career, had assignments at other industry leaders.

Title Information and Concept

The upcoming game was announced in October 2024 alongside a community playtest. At the time, the developers presented the game as a "no-cost, 3rd-person action-packed experience and an innovative step forward on the category."

"Build your perfect run—or die trying—in this 3rd-person action shooter! Customize your character in real-time to match your preferred approach," the official summary states. "Take on the opponents with unique powers, challenges, and obstacles that shift every session. Do you safely extract with your valuable rewards? Or take a risk, risk it all, and pray your group can secure victory? The decision is yours."

The game lacks an announced release date or consoles, but players can anticipate additional details as creation advances.