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

Leadership Change Comes After Mixed Feedback

Brinkman steps into the role of studio head at the development studio following the departure of previous head Michael Condrey, who was reportedly let go due to Project Ethos' lackluster initial reveal last autumn.

Recently, 2K president a key figure updated team members about this organizational change through an internal memo, which stressed that early feedback sessions had shown the necessity for a clearer vision.

Ismailer stated that the developers is now refining Project Ethos with a refreshed approach, aiming to address gamer demands.

A Pattern of Key Acquisitions

The news mirrors a comparable action taken by the publisher in the summer, when they hired an industry veteran from Blizzard to work on the BioShock studio Cloud Chamber.

Here is the entire message from Ismailer's memo:

Dear Team—

I understand you all just finished your town hall - I hope you’re as excited as I am with the recent updates. Previously I shared you all a note, I expressed the following: “I am confident in this crew. You all are some of the most dedicated and talented designers we have had the opportunity to partner with - and we’re eager for that relationship to persist.”

Given your hard work and flexibility, especially over the past twelve months, you consistently demonstrate that.

The gamer responses from last autumn’s the game demo was revealing. It validated the potential of a roguelike shooter but indicated we still had improvements to make. It revealed the necessity for a clearer brand.

It has been motivating to see how far you’ve come. You took the feedback to consideration and reimagined Project ETHOS with a refreshed goal - one that’s ready to fulfill its ambition to our fans.

Our confidence in Project ETHOS increases every day. To boost the remarkable advancement you’ve made, It is a pleasure to announce Ben Brinkman as the latest Lead of the team. After a period of conversations, Ben comes aboard us on next week.

Ben’s leadership and experience in the PVP shooter space is vast, having spent the recent years producing and leading some of the most popular titles in gaming, for example Call of Duty: Black Ops, and lately, the battle royale hit.

Let’s together in greeting him in the coming days. We are all excited to keep observing the progress of the game in the months to ahead.

The President

Experience of the New Leader

Brinkman currently holds the role of senior developer and production lead at the renowned studio for Apex Legends. He previously was employed at Treyarch and Activision in diverse development positions on the iconic franchise series, and, earlier in his career, had assignments at other industry leaders.

Game Information and Vision

Project Ethos was revealed in last year together with a community playtest. At the time, 31st Union presented the title as a "free-to-play, third-person perspective action-packed experience and an innovative evolution on the genre."

"Create your ideal gameplay session—or face defeat—in this engaging over-the-shoulder adventure! Customize your character in real-time to match your preferred approach," the description states. "Face the competition with fresh skills, challenges, and obstacles that change every match. Do you leave securely with your hard-earned loot? Or go big, put it on the line, and hope your group can earn top ranking? The choice is in your hands."

Project Ethos lacks an official debut schedule or supported systems, but players can anticipate additional details as development advances.