2K has reaffirmed its help for the third-person roguelike motion shooter, Mission Ethos, and appointed the previous govt producer of Apex Legends as the brand new studio head of growth firm thirty first Union.
The information was shared with staff at a city corridor at present, adopted by an inner memo, the latter of which was shared with videogameaddicted by 2K. A memo written by 2K President David Ismailer states that Ben Brinkman will develop into studio head of thirty first Union beginning Monday, October twentieth. Brinkman will oversee the event of Mission Ethos to “reimagine” the sport with a “new imaginative and prescient” after playtesting of the sport in 2024 revealed the necessity for a “clearer identification.”
Under is an excerpt from the memo.
Neighborhood suggestions from final fall’s Mission ETHOS playtest was enlightening. We have seen the potential of a roguelike shooter, however we all know we nonetheless have work to do. This revealed the necessity for a clearer identification.
It has been inspiring to see how far you have come. You have taken your suggestions to coronary heart, reimagined Mission ETHOS with a brand new imaginative and prescient, and are able to ship in your promise to gamers.
Our confidence in Mission ETHOS grows day by day. To construct on the unimaginable progress you have made, we’re excited to welcome Ben Brinkman as thirty first Union’s new studio head. After months of discussions, Ben formally joined us on Monday, October twentieth.
Brinkman joins thirty first Union instantly from EA, the place he labored as an govt producer on Apex Legends since 2020 after six years at Treyarch on Name of Obligation. videogameaddicted reached out to EA for touch upon what this implies for Apex Legends and who will take over Brinkman’s earlier position.
Mission Ethos was first introduced final October as a free-to-play, third-person hero extraction shooter with roguelike components. It is being developed by thirty first Union, a studio based in 2019 by former Sledgehammer Video games co-founder Michael Condrey and initially known as 2K Silicon Valley. We previewed Mission Ethos on the time and favored it, however stated it “lacks the sort of new expertise that gamers crave time and time once more.” Different media shops shared comparable suggestions, saying that the sport was enjoyable sufficient, however did not do something vital sufficient to face out in a crowded style.
thirty first Union has remained quiet on the Mission Ethos entrance since then, however in February of this yr Kotaku reported that Condrey had been fired from 2K Video games because of a lackluster response to the sport. On the time, 2K promised its staff that it might proceed to help the challenge.
This information reveals that 2K is certainly making good on its promise to proceed supporting Mission Ethos, regardless of ongoing issues about viewers fatigue for on-line multiplayer shooters, particularly additional shooters. Nevertheless, given the wording of the e-mail, it might take a while to get the subsequent replace.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter at videogameaddicted. You’ll find her posts at BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Do you could have any story suggestions? Ship it to rvalentine@videogameaddicted.com.