DonkeyPunchJr
World’s Biggest Weeb
2K Games has fired 31st Union president Michael Condrey after the studio’s long-awaited online multiplayer game Project Ethos was revealed last fall to little fanfare or apparent player interest, according to two sources familiar with the studio. The project’s fate is now unclear, although 2K, which is publishing Borderlands 4and Mafia: The Old Country later this year, says it remains “very committed” to both Project Ethos and the studio behind it.
Condrey, who previously co-founded Sledgehammer Games, was removed as studio head at 31st Union earlier this week on February 3, according to two sources, but 2K says he will continue advising the project. The leadership change comes as parent company Take-Two prepares to announce its quarterly earnings on February 6. The company, which is planning to release Grand Theft Auto 6 later this year, has a history of announcing project cancellations as write-downs in its quarterly results.
Project Ethos’ announcement and closed beta tests also came shortly after the high-profile collapse of Concord, Sony’s expensive first-party sci-fi hero shooter that was retroactively unreleased with full refunds to players less than two weeks after coming out. While some live-service projects have still found success, like the Overwatch-inspired Marvel Rivals, which is still one of the most played games across console and PC months after releasing, many more have struggled to gain any traction in the current hyper-competitive environment.
^ IGN’s glowing preview of the game. Hope it still gets released so we can have another Concord!