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The renowned publisher has secured Ben Brinkman from the creators of Apex Legends to oversee the studio crew at their internal studio, which is currently working on the anticipated third-person action-packed title known as this innovative game.

Leadership Change Comes After Poor Reception

The new appointee assumes the leadership position at 31st Union following the departure of former leader the ex-Sledgehammer Games executive, who was removed from his post due to the game's disappointing unveiling last fall.

Recently, the company's top executive a key figure informed employees about this strategic move through an internal memo, which emphasized that playtesting had revealed the requirement for a clearer vision.

Ismailer stated that the developers is now reimagining the project with a refreshed focus, aiming to satisfy community desires.

A Pattern of Strategic Acquisitions

The news follows a comparable step taken by 2K Games in August, when they brought on Rod Fergusson from Blizzard to work on the beloved franchise studio Cloud Chamber.

Here is the full message from Ismailer's memo:

Dear Team—

I understand you all just wrapped up your town hall - I trust you’re as excited as I am with the recent updates. Last time I shared you all a note, I expressed the following: “I believe in this crew. You all are some of the most dedicated and creative creators we have had the opportunity to partner with - and we’re eager for that collaboration to persist.”

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

The community feedback from last autumn’s Project ETHOS demo was revealing. It confirmed the potential of a roguelike shooter but told us we still had improvements to make. It revealed the requirement for a clearer identity.

The progress is encouraging to see how far you’ve come. You embraced the criticism to heart and revamped Project ETHOS with a renewed goal - one that’s positioned to deliver on its potential to our audience.

The belief in this project grows every day. To further the outstanding advancement you’ve made, I am thrilled to announce Ben Brinkman as the new Studio Head of the team. Following a period of conversations, Ben starts with us on Monday, October 20.

Ben’s management and background in the PVP shooter space is considerable, having dedicated the recent years developing and leading some of the most popular titles in the industry, for example Call of Duty: Black Ops, and more recently, the battle royale hit.

Let’s together in greeting him next week. We are all eager to keep witnessing the progress of the game in the months to come.

David

Background of the New Head

Brinkman currently serves in the role of executive producer and production lead at the renowned studio for Apex Legends. He previously worked at Treyarch and Activision in various development positions on the Call of Duty games, and, earlier in his career, had assignments at other industry leaders.

Game Details and Concept

Project Ethos was unveiled in October 2024 in conjunction with a public demo. Then, 31st Union presented the title as a "free-to-play, 3rd-person action-packed experience and an innovative step forward on the style."

"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 description states. "Challenge the competition with new abilities, stakes, and challenges that shift every round. Will you safely extract with your collected items? Or aim high, risk it all, and trust your squad can achieve the highest spot? The decision is in your hands."

Project Ethos does not have an official release date or consoles, but players can anticipate further news as development continues.