2K Hires Popular Battle Royale Developer to Rescue Struggling Hero Shooter Ambitious Title

2K Games has secured Ben Brinkman from the creators of Apex Legends to direct the development team at their internal studio, which is currently working on the forthcoming over-the-shoulder action-packed title known as Project Ethos.

Management Transition Comes After Mixed Reception

Brinkman takes on the role of studio head at 31st Union following the exit of previous head Michael Condrey, who was removed from his post due to Project Ethos' underwhelming early showing last fall.

On Wednesday, the company's top executive a key figure updated team members about this organizational change through an internal memo, which stressed that playtesting had shown the necessity for a clearer game identity.

The president expressed that the developers is now refining the project with a revised vision, aiming to satisfy community desires.

Trend of Key Recruitment

This announcement mirrors a comparable step taken by 2K Games in the summer, when they hired Rod Fergusson from the Diablo team to assist with the BioShock development group.

Below is the entire message from Ismailer's memo:

Hello Everyone—

I understand you all just wrapped up your town hall - I trust you’re as enthusiastic as I am with the positive developments. Last time I sent you all a message, I stated the following: “I believe in this crew. You all are some of the most dedicated and talented developers we have had the opportunity to partner with - and we’re excited for that collaboration to continue.”

Given your hard work and versatility, especially over the last year, you continue to prove that.

The community feedback from last fall’s the game testing phase was revealing. It validated the promise of a roguelike shooter but told us we still had work to do. It uncovered the requirement for a clearer brand.

The progress is encouraging to see how far you’ve progressed. You took the input to heart and overhauled Project ETHOS with a refreshed vision - one that’s ready to fulfill its potential to our players.

The trust in this project increases every day. To boost the incredible advancement you’ve made, I’m excited to announce the new hire as the latest Studio Head of 31st Union. Following some time of discussions, he comes aboard us on next week.

His guidance and expertise in the competitive gaming field is vast, having spent the past decade and a half creating and managing some of the most well-known series in gaming, for example the acclaimed shooter, and lately, Apex Legends.

Let’s together in welcoming Ben soon. We are all looking forward to persist observing the evolution of the game in the time to come.

The President

Experience of the Incoming Leader

The appointee presently holds the position of senior developer and production lead at Respawn Entertainment for their flagship title. Brinkman earlier worked at major gaming companies in multiple production roles on the Call of Duty games, and, earlier in his career, had periods at 2K and Electronic Arts.

Title Information and Concept

The upcoming game was announced in last year alongside a public demo. At the time, 31st Union described the title as a "free-to-play, 3rd-person roguelike hero shooter and an exciting step forward on the style."

"Create your ideal gameplay session—or face defeat—in this engaging over-the-shoulder adventure! Build your hero in live gameplay to match your preferred approach," the description states. "Take on the competition with unique powers, stakes, and obstacles that shift every round. Will you safely extract with your hard-earned loot? Alternatively take a risk, risk it all, and hope your squad can achieve the highest spot? The decision is yours."

The game does not have an announced debut schedule or consoles, but players can anticipate further news as production progresses.