🔗 Share this article

The renowned publisher has secured a seasoned producer from Respawn Entertainment to lead the studio crew at 31st Union, which is currently crafting the upcoming third-person roguelike extraction-shooter known as this innovative game.

Leadership Transition Comes After Poor Feedback

The new appointee assumes the role of studio head at the development studio following the departure of former leader Michael Condrey, who was removed from his post due to Project Ethos' underwhelming initial reveal last autumn.

On Wednesday, the company's top executive a key figure updated team members about this organizational change through an official communication, which stressed that early feedback sessions had indicated the requirement for a distinct game identity.

Ismailer expressed that the team is now overhauling the project with a renewed vision, aiming to satisfy player expectations.

A Pattern of Strategic Acquisitions

This announcement mirrors a similar move taken by 2K Games in the summer, when they recruited an industry veteran from Blizzard to work on the BioShock studio Cloud Chamber.

Here is the complete content from Ismailer's memo:

Hello Everyone—

I understand you all just wrapped up your meeting - I hope you’re as excited as I am with the good news. Previously I shared you all a note, I mentioned the following: “I believe in this team. You all are some of the most driven and creative developers we have had the opportunity to partner with - and we’re excited for that partnership to persist.”

Through your commitment and flexibility, especially over the last year, you repeatedly show that.

The player input from last fall’s Project ETHOS testing phase was enlightening. It affirmed the appeal of a action-packed game but told us we still had improvements to make. It uncovered the need for a clearer vision.

It’s been inspiring to see how far you’ve progressed. You embraced the feedback to heart and overhauled the title with a refreshed vision - one that’s positioned to deliver on its promise to our fans.

The belief in Project ETHOS grows every day. To boost the remarkable progress you’ve made, I am thrilled to introduce Ben Brinkman as the new Studio Head of 31st Union. After a period of talks, Ben officially joins us on next week.

Ben’s management and background in the PVP shooter space is extensive, having devoted the last 15 years creating and leading some of the most well-known titles in the industry, for example Call of Duty: Black Ops, and most recently, Apex Legends.

Let’s together in receiving Ben in the coming days. We are all excited to persist observing the evolution of the game in the weeks to come.

The President

Experience of the New Head

The appointee presently serves in the role of executive producer and production lead at the renowned studio for Apex Legends. He earlier worked at Treyarch and Activision in various development positions on the iconic franchise games, and, earlier in his career, had assignments at 2K and Electronic Arts.

Title Information and Vision

The upcoming game was announced in last year in conjunction with a community playtest. At the time, the developers described the title as a "free-to-play, third-person perspective action-packed experience and an exciting evolution on the style."

"Create your ideal gameplay session—or face defeat—in this engaging over-the-shoulder adventure! Customize your character in live gameplay to match your preferred approach," the official summary reads. "Challenge the opponents with new abilities, challenges, and challenges that evolve every match. Do you safely extract with your hard-earned loot? Or aim high, risk it all, and pray your group can earn top ranking? The option is yours."

The game lacks an confirmed release date or supported systems, but players can expect more updates as production continues.