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The renowned publisher has secured Ben Brinkman from the creators of Apex Legends to lead the development team at their internal studio, which is currently working on the forthcoming third-person action-packed title known as Project Ethos.

Management Shift Comes After Mixed Response

Brinkman assumes the leadership position at 31st Union following the departure of former leader Michael Condrey, who was removed from his post due to Project Ethos' underwhelming initial reveal last fall.

On Wednesday, the company's top executive a key figure updated team members about this decision through an internal memo, which emphasized that early feedback sessions had revealed the requirement for a more defined game identity.

Ismailer noted that the developers is now overhauling the project with a refreshed vision, aiming to satisfy community desires.

A Pattern of Key Recruitment

This announcement follows a comparable action taken by the publisher in August, when they recruited an industry veteran from Blizzard to contribute to the beloved franchise studio Cloud Chamber.

Below is the complete content from Ismailer's communication:

Hello Everyone—

I understand you all just wrapped up your town hall - I trust you’re as thrilled as I am with the positive developments. Previously I shared you all a update, I mentioned the following: “I believe in this crew. You all are some of the most motivated and innovative creators we have had the chance to partner with - and we’re excited for that collaboration to persist.”

Through your commitment and versatility, particularly over the past twelve months, you continue to prove that.

The community feedback from last autumn’s Project ETHOS demo was enlightening. It affirmed the promise of a roguelike shooter but told us we still had refinements needed. It uncovered the necessity for a clearer brand.

It’s been inspiring to see how far you’ve progressed. You took the feedback to heart and overhauled Project ETHOS with a renewed vision - one that’s positioned to fulfill its ambition to our audience.

The belief in this project grows every day. To advance the remarkable development you’ve made, I am thrilled to welcome Ben Brinkman as the incoming Lead of the team. Following a period of conversations, he starts with us on Monday, October 20.

His leadership and expertise in the PVP shooter space is extensive, having spent the recent years producing and leading some of the most popular series in the industry, including Call of Duty: Black Ops, and more recently, Apex Legends.

Please join me in welcoming Ben soon. We are all eager to persist seeing the progress of the game in the months to come.

David

Experience of the New Leader

The appointee presently serves in the position of senior developer and production lead at Respawn Entertainment for Apex Legends. Brinkman earlier worked at Treyarch and Activision in multiple production roles on the iconic franchise series, and, prior to that, had assignments at 2K and Electronic Arts.

Title Information and Concept

Project Ethos was unveiled in last year together with a early access event. Initially, the developers presented the game as a "no-cost, 3rd-person roguelike hero shooter and an exciting evolution on the genre."

"Build your perfect run—or die trying—in this 3rd-person action shooter! Customize your character in live gameplay to suit your personal playstyle," the game's pitch states. "Face the rivals with fresh skills, risks, and tests that change every match. Will you withdraw carefully with your collected items? Or take a risk, gamble everything, and hope your squad can secure victory? The choice is yours."

Project Ethos has not yet received an announced release date or supported systems, but players can look forward to more updates as creation continues.