2K has reaffirmed its support for third-person roguelike shooter Project Ethos and named the former Apex Legends executive producer as developer 31st Union’s novel studio head.
This news was shared with employees at City Hall today, followed by an internal memo that 2K shared with IGN. The memo, written by 2K president David Ismailer, states that Ben Brinkman will take over as studio head of 31st Union effective Monday, October 20. Brinkman will oversee the development of Project Ethos as it “redesigns” the game “with a renewed vision” after 2024 playtesting revealed the need for a “more distinct identity.”
Here is a fragment of the note:
The community feedback received during Project ETHOS testing last fall was instructive. It confirmed the promise of the roguelike shooter, but showed us that we still had something to work on. She discovered the need for a more distinct identity.
It was inspiring to see how far you’ve come. You took this feedback to heart and re-created Project ETHOS with a renewed vision – one that is able to fulfill the promise to our players
Our trust in the ETHOS Project grows every day. To continue making incredible progress, I’m thrilled to welcome Ben Brinkman as the novel studio head of 31st Union. After several months of conversations, Ben officially joins us on Monday, October 20.
Brinkman joins 31st Union directly from EA, where he previously served as executive producer of Apex Legends from 2020, after six years at Treyarch on Call of Duty. IGN has reached out to EA for comment on what this means for Apex Legends and who will take over Brinkman’s previous role.
Project Ethos was first announced in October last year as a free-to-play third-person shooter featuring extraction heroes with roguelike elements. The production is handled by 31st Union, a studio founded in 2019 by former Sledgehammer Games co-founder Michael Condrey and originally referred to as 2K Silicon Valley. We watched Project Ethos at the time and liked it a lot, but decided it wasn’t “a new experience that players would still crave.” Other outlets shared similar opinions, saying the game was fun enough but did nothing significant to stand out in a crowded genre.
Since then, 31st Union has been mute on Project Ethos, but in February of this year Kotaku reported that Condrey was fired by 2K Games due to the game’s lukewarm reception. 2K then assured employees that it would continue to support the project.
This news indicates that 2K is indeed keeping its promise to continue supporting Project Ethos, even amid ongoing concerns that the audience for online and multiplayer shooters – especially extraction shooters – is being depleted. However, based on the content of the email, it may be some time before we receive another update.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Her posts can be found on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Have a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
