31st Union, the studio behind Project ETHOS, has laid off “some valued colleagues” as per an announcement from the studio head Ben Brinkman, which publisher 2K then shared with GamesIndustry.
“Since joining 31st Union, it’s become clear that changes need to be made to our team in order to realize our goals. 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.” As the site pointed out, he described the title as a “skill-based PVP roguelike experience” rather than a roguelike hero shooter, and you have to wonder if that means a significant shift in direction.
You might be forgiven if you’re wondering what we’re talking about. It’s been a while since there’s been news (remember that it was revealed back in October 2024). Following the radio silence, the need to “better align with where we are in development” has led the studio to let go of a portion of its team. What that entails for a title that seems rather confused about what it aims to be remains unclear, but Brinkman expressed measured optimism in his carefully-worded statement.
It isn’t the first time we’ve talked about the studio letting go of staff members, though, and we can’t help but feel a tinge of sadness for those who surely worked hard to bring the title to its current state, which the studio has “never been confident in.” Let’s just hope that this one turns out well to honor their contribution, and that it doesn’t hit any more snags along the way.
After all, the year has already seen some high-profile PvP failures, including the ill-fated Highguard, which lasted all of two months before it and developer Wildlight Entertainment shut down.
