It’s only been four months since we first heard about his studio’s game in official form… so what the hell happened to make Take-Two’s 2K Games dump the guy so quickly?

Back in October, we saw Project Ethos, which 31st Union is working on. The press got an early look at the game back then, but the timing of the launch was a bit off, as Concord had been released a month earlier in the same genre (hero shooter) and then quickly flopped. The difference for Project Ethos was that it would not be a paid game, but a free-to-play game. However, the failure of Concord meant that Project Ethos did not seem to have captured the public’s interest, and Take-Two may have reacted.

Kotaku has reported that Michael Condrey, who previously worked on Call of Duty and Dead Space, was abruptly removed as president of the 31st Union. This decision was made because the reception to Project Ethos has been lukewarm at best. According to two sources at Kotaku, this is why Condrey was removed from his position, but work on the game continues, and Condrey remains tied to the game in some (unspecified) advisory 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 transition his role in the short term to focus on advising on the future of Project Ethos. We remain very committed to the future of Project Ethos and the people and culture of the 31st Union studio,” a 2K spokesperson told PC Gamer, sort of, but not exactly, confirming that Condrey is out.

Take-Two will probably confirm this in its quarterly report. Last April, the publisher canceled several projects, shutting down Intercept Games (Kerbal Space Program 2) and Roll7 (Rollderdrome), and selling its Private Division subsidiary.

Source: PCGamer