However, a spokesperson for the publishing label told the site that Condrey has moved to an advisor role. “We are grateful to Michael Condrey for the dedication, passion and work ethic it took to build an incredible team and shape the vision of 31st Union.

“Michael will be transitioning his role in the short term to focus on advising on the future of Project ETHOS. We remain very committed to the forward path for Project ETHOS and the people and culture of the 31st Union studio.”

The title has reportedly been in development for “several years” and faced “a challenging and rocky development cycle” under Condrey. It also allegedly has (including 31st Union’s sister studio in Spain) working on it.

Project ETHOS is in development for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. It’s a free-to-play shooter with heroes and modes like Trials, a PvEvP skirmish where players obtain cores for Augments in future runs. Leveling up in Trials provides new abilities for heroes, and you can collect loot to modify their playstyles. The other mode is Gauntlet, a round-robin Team Deathmatch-style tournament.

There’s currently no release window for Project ETHOS, though one has to wonder about its long-term future (even with 2K’s commitment). Live-service titles haven’t exactly been booming – for every Helldivers 2 and Marvel Rivals, there have been multiple cancelled projects from Sony and failures like Concord.

The title offers two modes: Trials and Gauntlet. The former consists of matches against AI enemies and other players, where three-player teams collect and extract cores. These can then be used to receive Augments for future Trials runs. When your hero levels up during a Trial, they can unlock new abilities and passives.

Gaunlet is a round-robin-style tournament where multiple teams compete in Team Deathmatch. Though it’s more straightforward than Trials, it offers more conventional PvP.

A community playtest is available on PC from October 17th to 20th in the United States, United Kingdom, Mexico, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Spain. Head here for the timings. Those who register and don’t get access will be earmarked for future playtests.

In February 2019, 2K Games announced that they had set up a new studio in San Francisco called Silicon Valley, and that it would be led up by Michael Condrey (who’d previously also founded Visceral Games at EA and Sledgehammer Games at Activision). There hasn’t been an awful lot of news on what the studio is working on so far, but 2K Games did recently share an important new update.

2K Games have announced that 2K Silicon Valley has been officially renamed to 31st Union. 2K will also be expanding the studio’s presence by opening up a European office for it in Spain. Studio president Condrey also mentioned that they are working on “an ambitious and inspired new IP.”

“31st Union is off to an incredible start with a passionate and talented team, an intentioned culture that champions inclusivity and greater representation, and an ambitious and inspired new IP that we’re extremely excited about,” said Condrey. “Our name and studio represent the spirit of California in its rich diversity of thought, art, music, innovation and cultural representation that have defined the current golden age of entertainment and technology here in Silicon Valley. In revealing our new identity and announcing the expansion of our operations, we’re shifting into an exciting next phase of growth to include more voices and bring our vision to life around the globe.”

“We’re creating a development environment focused on a single new IP where passion is at the center of it all,” added Tyler Michaud, Head of Strategy, “and we believe diverse perspectives and experiences are crucial to creating a truly global blockbuster with a deep connection to passionate fans.”

While there’s no telling for certain just when exactly 31st Union will be ready to share news on what they’re working on, 2K president David Ismailer did briefly mention that, saying they will be “sharing more about its new IP in time.”

2K’s parent company Take-Two Interactive recently said that we’d be hearing more about the game in the coming months, so at least we know we’re not going to have to wait too long.