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The renowned publisher has welcomed Ben Brinkman from the creators of Apex Legends to direct the studio crew at their internal studio, which is currently developing the anticipated third-person roguelike extraction-shooter known as this innovative game.

Management Transition Follows Poor Reception

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 disappointing unveiling last autumn.

On Wednesday, the company's top executive David Ismailer informed team members about this organizational change through an official communication, which emphasized that playtesting had shown the requirement for a distinct vision.

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

A Pattern of Key Recruitment

The news mirrors a comparable move taken by 2K Games in August, when they hired an industry veteran from Blizzard to assist with the BioShock studio Cloud Chamber.

Below is the entire content from Ismailer's memo:

Hello Everyone—

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 shared you all a update, I mentioned the following: “I believe in this team. You all are some of the most driven and creative designers we have had the opportunity to work with - and we’re looking forward for that collaboration to continue.”

With your dedication and flexibility, particularly over the past twelve months, you continue to prove that.

The community feedback from last fall’s Project ETHOS testing phase was enlightening. It confirmed the promise of a roguelike shooter but told us we still had improvements to make. It revealed the need for a more distinct brand.

The progress is encouraging to see how far you’ve progressed. You took the criticism to mind and overhauled Project ETHOS with a renewed goal - one that’s positioned to fulfill its ambition to our audience.

Our confidence in this project grows every day. To boost the incredible development you’ve made, It is a pleasure to announce Ben Brinkman as the new Studio Head of the team. Following a period of conversations, he comes aboard us on the specified date.

His leadership and experience in the PVP shooter space is considerable, having devoted the past decade and a half creating and leading some of the most recognizable series in gaming, for example Call of Duty: Black Ops, and more recently, Apex Legends.

Please join me in welcoming him next week. We are all excited to persist witnessing the development of the game in the time to come.

The President

Experience of the New Leader

Brinkman currently serves in the position of executive producer and production lead at Respawn Entertainment for Apex Legends. He previously was employed at Treyarch and Activision in various production roles on the iconic franchise series, and, prior to that, had periods at 2K and Electronic Arts.

Title Information and Vision

Project Ethos was unveiled in last year in conjunction with a public demo. Initially, 31st Union described the title as a "no-cost, 3rd-person action-packed experience and an innovative step forward on the genre."

"Build your perfect run—or die trying—in this 3rd-person action shooter! Customize your character in live gameplay to fit your unique tactics," the official summary states. "Face the rivals with unique powers, risks, and obstacles that change every round. Do you safely extract with your collected items? Or take a risk, gamble everything, and hope your squad can earn top ranking? The decision is up to you."

Project Ethos has not yet received an announced release date or supported systems, but players can look forward to additional details as development advances.