Project Ethos, the third-person shooter in development at 2K’s 31st Union studio, is undergoing major changes and cutting staff from the project.
Studio head Ben Brinkman said in a memo to staff today, shared with GameSpot by 2K, that Project Ethos is becoming a “skill-based PvP roguelike” as part of the “renewed direction” that was announced in 2025. A new piece of concept art for the game can be seen below. Brinkman also said Project Ethos is aiming to be a game that will “challenge and thrill players.”
“We’ve evolved as a team this past year in what has been a defining period of creative growth. While the moves we’re making haven’t always been easy, they are what is required to push us forward. I believe strongly in our ability to deliver on this vision and the promise of this game,” Brinkman said.
He also confirmed that 31st Union is cutting staff to “realize our goals and deliver this experience for players.”
“Our success is dependent on our ability to work more quickly and nimbly. To do that, we’ve made the difficult decision to scale back our team to better align with where we are in development, which unfortunately means parting ways with some valued colleagues today,” he said.
His memo continued: “While today is going to be hard, I’ve never been more confident in the future of our game, this team, and the commitment and investment Take-Two and 2K leadership continue to show.”
Brinkman took over as the head of 31st Union after the former boss, ex-Call of Duty executive Michael Condrey, left the studio.
Brinkman is a veteran of the shooter space, having most recently spent five years at Respawn as executive producer for Apex Legends. Before that, he was an executive producer for the Call of Duty series at Activision from 2008 to 2020. He’s actually returning to 2K, as he was a producer at the company from July 2006 to March 2008.
GameSpot’s hands-on preview of Project Ethos said the game was “delightfully different” but lacked an identity. Exactly what this “renewed vision” is remains to be seen, nor do we know when 2K may share more details about the game or show it off again.
In February 2025, it was reported that Project Ethos would have to “pivot or be killed.”
