A undisclosed number of employees have been laid off at 31st Union, the 2K-owned studio working on upcoming free-to-play shooter Project Ethos.
As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, studio head Ben Brinkman recently sent out an internal memo praising the game’s “renewed direction and vision,” before stating “our success is dependent on our ability to work more quickly and nimbly.”
Brinkman said the team must be downsized in order to achieve that goal. “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 added.
The number of layoffs has not been confirmed by 2K or parent company Take-Two Interactive.
The news continues a period of tumult for the studio, which laid off a “small number” of employees in January 2024.
More recently, former studio head Michael Condrey was reportedly fired after Project Ethos failed to generate interest upon being revealed. Brinkman, who previously served as head of production on Apex Legends, joined the project in October 2025.