2K Games has secured Ben Brinkman from the creators of Apex Legends to direct the development team at their internal studio, which is currently developing the upcoming over-the-shoulder roguelike extraction-shooter known as this innovative game.
Leadership Change Follows Poor Feedback
The new appointee takes on the role of studio head at the development studio following the dismissal of previous head Michael Condrey, who was removed from his post due to Project Ethos' disappointing initial reveal last fall.
On Wednesday, the company's top executive David Ismailer notified staff about this decision through an internal memo, which emphasized that early feedback sessions had revealed the requirement for a distinct vision.
The president expressed that the developers is now refining Project Ethos with a renewed focus, aiming to better meet community desires.
A Pattern of Key Recruitment
This announcement mirrors a comparable step taken by 2K Games in the summer, when they brought on Rod Fergusson from the Diablo team to assist with the BioShock studio Cloud Chamber.
Here is the complete text from Ismailer's communication:
Team—
I understand you all just completed your town hall - I hope you’re as excited as I am with the good news. Previously I shared you all a message, I expressed the following: “I believe in this group. You all are some of the most driven and creative creators we have had the pleasure to work with - and we’re eager for that relationship to continue.”
Given your hard work and adaptability, particularly over the past twelve months, you repeatedly show that.
The gamer responses from last fall’s Project ETHOS demo was revealing. It affirmed the appeal of a roguelike shooter but indicated we still had improvements to make. It uncovered the requirement for a more distinct identity.
It’s been inspiring to see how far you’ve advanced. You embraced the criticism to consideration and revamped the title with a revitalized direction - one that’s poised to deliver on its ambition to our audience.
Our confidence in this project grows every day. To further the outstanding progress you’ve made, It is a pleasure to announce Ben Brinkman as the new Director of 31st Union. After some time of conversations, he officially joins us on next week.
His leadership and background in the PVP shooter genre is considerable, having spent the past decade and a half creating and leading some of the most popular series in gaming, such as the acclaimed shooter, and most recently, the battle royale hit.
Please join me in welcoming him soon. We are all excited to persist witnessing the progress of Project ETHOS in the weeks to ahead.
David
Experience of the New Head
Brinkman presently holds the position of senior developer and head of production at the renowned studio for Apex Legends. Brinkman earlier worked at Treyarch and Activision in multiple production roles on the iconic franchise series, and, before that, had periods at other industry leaders.
Title Details and Concept
Project Ethos was announced in October 2024 alongside a community playtest. Initially, 31st Union presented the game as a "free-to-play, 3rd-person roguelike hero shooter and an innovative step forward on the genre."
"Create your ideal gameplay session—or face defeat—in this engaging over-the-shoulder adventure! Build your hero in live gameplay to suit your personal playstyle," the description reads. "Face the opponents with new abilities, challenges, and tests that change every match. Do you safely extract with your valuable rewards? Alternatively take a risk, risk it all, and hope your squad can earn top ranking? The decision is in your hands."
The game has not yet received an announced launch window or consoles, but enthusiasts can look forward to more updates as production progresses.
