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The renowned publisher has welcomed Ben Brinkman from the creators of Apex Legends to oversee the studio crew at their internal studio, which is currently developing the upcoming over-the-shoulder roguelike extraction-shooter known as Project Ethos.

Management Change Comes After Lukewarm 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 unveiling last autumn.

Recently, the company's top executive a key figure notified team members about this organizational change through an official communication, which highlighted that early feedback sessions had indicated the need for a clearer vision.

The president noted that the team is now reimagining Project Ethos with a revised vision, aiming to satisfy player expectations.

Trend of Key Acquisitions

The news echoes a comparable action taken by the publisher in August, when they hired an industry veteran from Blizzard to contribute to the BioShock development group.

Here is the full content from the president's memo:

Hello Everyone—

I know you all just finished your town hall - I trust you’re as enthusiastic as I am with the recent updates. Last time I sent you all a update, I stated the following: “I am confident in this group. You all are some of the most driven and innovative designers we have had the opportunity to partner with - and we’re eager for that collaboration to persist.”

Given your hard work and flexibility, particularly over the last year, you repeatedly show that.

The gamer responses from last autumn’s the game testing phase was informative. It confirmed the potential of a action-packed game but indicated we still had improvements to make. It uncovered the necessity for a clearer identity.

It has been motivating to see how far you’ve progressed. You accepted the feedback to consideration and overhauled Project ETHOS with a renewed vision - one that’s poised to deliver on its ambition to our fans.

The trust in this project strengthens every day. To further the incredible progress you’ve made, I am thrilled to introduce the new hire as the incoming Lead of the team. Following some time of discussions, he officially joins us on next week.

Ben’s guidance and expertise in the PVP shooter genre is vast, having dedicated the past decade and a half producing and managing some of the most popular series in gaming, including the acclaimed shooter, and more recently, the battle royale hit.

I invite you all in greeting Ben in the coming days. We are all eager to persist observing the development of the game in the time to ahead.

David

Experience of the New Head

The appointee currently holds the position of executive producer and production lead at the renowned studio for their flagship title. Brinkman earlier was employed at Treyarch and Activision in multiple production roles on the Call of Duty games, and, prior to that, had assignments at 2K and Electronic Arts.

Game Information and Concept

The upcoming game was unveiled in last year alongside a early access event. Then, the developers presented the title 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! Build your hero in live gameplay to fit your unique tactics," the official summary reads. "Challenge the competition with fresh skills, challenges, and challenges that shift every match. Do you safely extract with your hard-earned loot? Alternatively go big, risk it all, and trust your squad can secure victory? The option is up to you."

Project Ethos does not have an official launch window or supported systems, but enthusiasts can anticipate more updates as production progresses.