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2K Games has welcomed Ben Brinkman from Respawn Entertainment to lead the development team at their internal studio, which is currently crafting the upcoming third-person roguelike extraction-shooter known as Project Ethos.

Leadership Change Follows Mixed Feedback

Brinkman steps into the leadership position at the development studio following the dismissal of former leader Michael Condrey, who was removed from his post due to the game's underwhelming unveiling last autumn.

On Wednesday, 2K president David Ismailer notified team members about this strategic move through an official communication, which emphasized that early feedback sessions had revealed the need for a distinct vision.

The president stated that the developers is now refining Project Ethos with a renewed approach, aiming to satisfy gamer demands.

Trend of Key Recruitment

The news follows a comparable move taken by 2K Games in the summer, when they hired Rod Fergusson from the Diablo team to contribute to the BioShock development group.

Below is the full text from the president's announcement:

Dear Team—

I know you all just finished your town hall - I trust you’re as thrilled as I am with the positive developments. Last time I sent you all a update, I mentioned the following: “I am confident in this crew. You all are some of the most dedicated and talented developers we have had the opportunity to partner with - and we’re eager for that relationship to continue.”

Through your commitment and versatility, particularly over the past twelve months, you consistently demonstrate that.

The player input from last autumn’s the game testing phase was enlightening. It validated the potential of a action-packed game but indicated we still had improvements to make. It revealed the need for a more distinct vision.

The progress is encouraging to see how far you’ve come. You embraced the feedback to heart and reimagined Project ETHOS with a refreshed vision - one that’s poised to achieve its ambition to our audience.

The trust in Project ETHOS increases every day. To further the remarkable development you’ve made, It is a pleasure to introduce the new hire as the new Studio Head of the team. Following some time of conversations, he comes aboard us on next week.

His leadership and expertise in the competitive gaming field is considerable, having spent the recent years developing and managing some of the most popular titles in the industry, for example Call of Duty: Black Ops, and more recently, Apex Legends.

Let’s together in welcoming him soon. We are all looking forward to persist seeing the evolution of the game in the weeks to follow.

The President

Experience of the Incoming Leader

The appointee presently holds the role of senior developer and production lead at Respawn Entertainment for Apex Legends. Brinkman earlier was employed at major gaming companies in multiple development positions on the Call of Duty games, and, earlier in his career, had assignments at 2K and Electronic Arts.

Game Details and Concept

The upcoming game was revealed in October 2024 alongside a public demo. Initially, 31st Union portrayed the title as a "no-cost, third-person perspective action-packed experience and an exciting step forward on the genre."

"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 official summary explains. "Take on the opponents with new abilities, stakes, and tests that evolve every session. Will you safely extract with your collected items? Or aim high, gamble everything, and trust your team can secure victory? The decision is yours."

Project Ethos lacks an official debut schedule or supported systems, but players can anticipate further news as creation progresses.