🔗 Share this article

2K Games has appointed a seasoned producer from Respawn Entertainment to oversee the development team at their internal studio, which is currently developing the upcoming third-person action-packed title known as Project Ethos.

Leadership Change Comes After Poor Reception

Brinkman steps into the role of studio head at 31st Union following the exit of former leader the ex-Sledgehammer Games executive, who was reportedly let go due to Project Ethos' disappointing initial reveal last autumn.

On Wednesday, 2K president a key figure informed employees about this decision through an official communication, which stressed that early feedback sessions had revealed the requirement for a clearer game identity.

Ismailer noted that the team is now overhauling Project Ethos with a revised approach, aiming to satisfy community desires.

Trend of Strategic Hires

The news follows a comparable step taken by 2K Games in the summer, when they brought on Rod Fergusson from the Diablo team to contribute to the BioShock development group.

Here is the complete content from Ismailer's communication:

Team—

I understand you all just completed your gathering - I trust you’re as thrilled as I am with the good news. Previously I shared you all a message, I stated the following: “I believe in this group. You all are some of the most dedicated and innovative developers we have had the chance to collaborate with - and we’re eager for that relationship to persist.”

With your dedication and versatility, particularly over the past twelve months, you repeatedly show that.

The community feedback from last autumn’s the game testing phase was informative. It confirmed the potential of a action-packed game but told us we still had refinements needed. It highlighted the requirement for a sharper identity.

The progress is encouraging to see how far you’ve progressed. You embraced the input to mind and overhauled the title with a renewed goal - one that’s positioned to fulfill its ambition to our players.

The trust in this project increases every day. To advance the remarkable progress you’ve made, I am thrilled to announce the new hire as the new Director of 31st Union. Following some time of conversations, Ben comes aboard us on next week.

His leadership and background in the competitive gaming field is considerable, having devoted the recent years producing and managing some of the most popular franchises in gaming, for example the acclaimed shooter, and more recently, Apex Legends.

Let’s together in greeting Ben in the coming days. We are all eager to persist seeing the development of the game in the weeks to ahead.

The President

Experience of the New Leader

Brinkman presently serves in the role of executive producer and head of production at Respawn Entertainment for their flagship title. He earlier worked at major gaming companies in various production roles on the iconic franchise games, and, prior to that, had assignments at 2K and Electronic Arts.

Game Information and Vision

Project Ethos was announced in last year alongside a community playtest. Initially, the developers portrayed the game as a "free-to-play, 3rd-person action-packed experience and an exciting step forward on the category."

"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 game's pitch reads. "Face the rivals with unique powers, challenges, and challenges that shift every session. Do you leave securely with your collected items? Or go big, risk it all, and trust your group can secure victory? The option is in your hands."

The game lacks an announced debut schedule or supported systems, but enthusiasts can anticipate further news as creation continues.