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The renowned publisher has secured Ben Brinkman from Respawn Entertainment to oversee the development team at their internal studio, which is currently crafting the forthcoming over-the-shoulder action-packed title known as Project Ethos.

Management Shift Comes After Mixed Reception

The new appointee steps into the leadership position at the development studio following the exit of former leader Michael Condrey, who was removed from his post due to Project Ethos' underwhelming early showing last fall.

On Wednesday, the company's top executive David Ismailer updated employees about this strategic move through an official communication, which stressed that playtesting had shown the necessity for a more defined direction.

The president expressed that the developers is now reimagining the project with a refreshed focus, aiming to better meet community desires.

Trend of Key Acquisitions

The news mirrors a comparable step taken by the publisher in the summer, when they brought on an industry veteran from Blizzard to work on the beloved franchise studio Cloud Chamber.

Below is the entire text from Ismailer's announcement:

Team—

I understand you all just finished your town hall - I hope you’re as excited as I am with the recent updates. Last time I sent you all a message, I mentioned the following: “I believe in this team. You all are some of the most dedicated and talented developers we have had the pleasure to collaborate with - and we’re excited for that collaboration to continue.”

Given your hard work and versatility, especially over the past twelve months, you consistently demonstrate that.

The gamer responses from last autumn’s the game playtest was revealing. It confirmed the appeal of a action-packed game but told us we still had improvements to make. It revealed the need for a sharper vision.

It’s been inspiring to see how far you’ve come. You accepted the criticism to consideration and overhauled Project ETHOS with a refreshed goal - one that’s poised to fulfill its ambition to our players.

Our confidence in this project increases every day. To advance the incredible development you’ve made, I’m excited to welcome the new hire as the incoming Director of 31st Union. Following several months of conversations, Ben starts with us on the specified date.

His leadership and experience in the competitive gaming field is considerable, having dedicated the recent years creating and overseeing some of the most popular series in gaming, for example the acclaimed shooter, and lately, the battle royale hit.

Let’s together in greeting Ben next week. We are all excited to keep witnessing the progress of Project ETHOS in the months to ahead.

The President

Experience of the New Leader

Brinkman presently serves in the role of senior developer and production lead at the renowned studio for Apex Legends. He earlier worked at major gaming companies in multiple development positions on the Call of Duty games, and, prior to that, had stints at other industry leaders.

Title Information and Vision

Project Ethos was unveiled in October 2024 together with a community playtest. Then, 31st Union described the game as a "no-cost, third-person perspective action-packed experience and an innovative advancement on the style."

"Create your ideal gameplay session—or face defeat—in this engaging over-the-shoulder adventure! Customize your character in real-time to fit your unique tactics," the game's pitch reads. "Take on the rivals with new abilities, risks, and tests that change every round. Do you safely extract with your collected items? Alternatively go big, risk it all, and pray your team can earn top ranking? The option is up to you."

The game does not have an announced release date or consoles, but players can expect additional details as creation continues.