The former Apex Legends executive producer has been named the new studio head of developer 31st Union, while 2K has reiterated its support for the third-person action roguelike shooter Project Ethos.
Employees were informed of this information today during a town hall, and 2K then shared the internal document with IGN. According to the memo, which was authored by David Ismailer, the president of 2K, Ben Brinkman will assume responsibility for 31st Union’s studio starting on Monday, October 20. Project Ethos will be developed under Brinkman’s direction as it is “reimagined” “with a renewed vision” following 2024 playtests that indicated the game needed “a more distinct identity.”
This is a passage taken from the memo:
The Project ETHOS playtest last fall received insightful community input. It told us we still had work to do, but it confirmed the promise of a roguelike shooter. It revealed that a clearer identity was required.
Seeing how far you’ve come has been encouraging. You considered the criticism carefully and came up with a fresh plan for Project ETHOS that is ready to fulfill its commitment to our players.
Every day, we have more faith in Project ETHOS. I’m thrilled to welcome Ben Brinkman as the new Studio Head of 31st Union, continuing the amazing success you’ve made. On Monday, October 20, Ben formally joins us after speaking with us for several months.
After six years at Treyarch on Call of Duty, Brinkman joins 31st Union straight from EA, where he was formerly an executive producer on Apex Legends since 2020. IGN has contacted EA to inquire about the implications for Apex Legends and the person who will be assuming Brinkman’s position.
A free-to-play, third-person, hero extraction shooter with some roguelike features, Project Ethos was first revealed in October of last year. It is being developed by 31st Union, a studio that was first known as 2K Silicon Valley and was established in 2019 by former Sledgehammer Games co-founder Michael Condrey. At the time of our preview, we thought Project Ethos was good, but we also stated that it “fails at being a new experience that players will crave over and over again.” Similar comments were made by other sources, who said that while the game was entertaining enough, it didn’t offer anything noteworthy to differentiate itself in a crowded genre.
Since then, 31st Union has remained silent on the Project Ethos front; however, in February of this year, Kotaku revealed that Condrey was let go by 2K Games because of the game’s lackluster reception. 2K promised the staff at the time that it would keep funding the project.
Despite persistent worries that the market for online multiplayer shooters, particularly extraction shooters, is exhausted, this news shows that 2K is in fact keeping its word to fund Project Ethos. However, considering the email’s phrasing, it might be some time before we receive another update.
