The renowned publisher has welcomed Ben Brinkman from the creators of Apex Legends to direct the studio crew at 31st Union, which is currently developing the forthcoming third-person roguelike extraction-shooter known as this innovative game.
Leadership Transition Follows Mixed Feedback
Brinkman assumes the leadership position at the development studio following the exit of former leader Michael Condrey, who was removed from his post due to the game's lackluster unveiling last fall.
Recently, the company's top executive a key figure informed staff about this strategic move through an official communication, which stressed that playtesting had revealed the necessity for a clearer game identity.
Ismailer noted that the developers is now reimagining the project with a renewed focus, aiming to address community desires.
A Pattern of Strategic Recruitment
The news mirrors a similar step taken by 2K Games in August, when they hired Rod Fergusson from Blizzard to work on the BioShock development group.
Here is the entire content from the president's communication:
Team—
I understand you all just completed your meeting - I trust you’re as enthusiastic as I am with the good news. Previously I shared you all a message, I expressed the following: “I believe in this crew. You all are some of the most dedicated and innovative developers we have had the chance to work with - and we’re eager for that relationship to persist.”
With your dedication and flexibility, particularly over the past twelve months, you repeatedly show that.
The community feedback from last autumn’s Project ETHOS playtest was revealing. It affirmed the potential of a roguelike shooter but indicated we still had improvements to make. It revealed the need for a clearer vision.
The progress is encouraging to see how far you’ve come. You took the input to consideration and reimagined Project ETHOS with a renewed goal - one that’s positioned to achieve its promise to our fans.
The belief in Project ETHOS increases every day. To further the incredible advancement you’ve made, I’m excited to announce the new hire as the latest Lead of 31st Union. Following several months of conversations, he starts with us on Monday, October 20.
His leadership and expertise in the competitive gaming field is vast, having devoted the past decade and a half developing and overseeing some of the most popular franchises in the industry, for example Call of Duty: Black Ops, and more recently, Apex Legends.
I invite you all in greeting Ben soon. We are all eager to keep seeing the development of the game in the months to ahead.
The President
Experience of the Incoming Head
The appointee presently holds the role of senior developer and head of production at the renowned studio for their flagship title. He earlier was employed at major gaming companies in diverse production roles on the iconic franchise games, and, before that, had periods at other industry leaders.
Title Information and Vision
Project Ethos was revealed in October 2024 alongside a public demo. Then, 31st Union described the game as a "free-to-play, 3rd-person roguelike hero shooter and an innovative step forward on the category."
"Build your perfect run—or die trying—in this 3rd-person action shooter! Build your hero in real-time to match your preferred approach," the game's pitch states. "Take on the rivals with new abilities, challenges, and obstacles that shift every session. Will you safely extract with your hard-earned loot? Alternatively go big, gamble everything, and trust your group can earn top ranking? The option is yours."
Project Ethos lacks an official launch window or supported systems, but enthusiasts can anticipate additional details as production progresses.
