Call of Duty veteran reportedly fired by 2K following muted response to "roguelike hero shooter" Project Ethos - Related to haemimont, several, project, "roguelike, open

Call of Duty veteran reportedly fired by 2K following muted response to "roguelike hero shooter" Project Ethos

Call of Duty veteran Michael Condrey has reportedly been fired as the head of 2K Games studio 31st Union after its debut project, free-to-play hero shooter Project Ethos, recieved a muted reponse on its reveal toward the end of last year.

Condrey, who co-founded Call of Duty developer Sledgehammer Games, was confirmed to be leading 2K's 31st Union in 2019. A year later, Condrey teased the studio was working on an "ambitious and inspired new IP" - but it wasn't until last October that the game, now known as Project Ethos, was finally revealed.

Project Ethos was officially described as a free-to-play "roguelike hero shooter", and featured a colourful art style reminiscent of Blizzard's Overwatch. Unfortunately, its unveiling came just months after consumer apathy led to the rapid demise of PlayStation's Concord - and it appears there wasn't much enthusiasm for Project Ethos either.

In a new study by Kotaku, findings claim Project Ethos - which is showcased to have faced a "challenging and rocky development cycle" under Condrey - was revealed to "little fanfare or apparent player interest". That seemingly sparked a chain of events leading to Condrey's reported firing as 31st Union's studio head earlier this week.

In a statement provided to Kotaku, 2K confirmed Condrey's departure as 31st Union president, saying he would be "transitioning his role in the short term to focus on advising on the future of Project Ethos". The publisher also insisted it remains "very committed to the forward path for Project Ethos and the people and culture of the 31st Union studio."

"We are grateful to Michael Condrey," it added, "for the dedication, passion and work ethic it took to build an incredible team and shape the vision of 31st Union."

2K, of course, has packed slate of major releases over the next 12 months, with Civilization 7, Borderlands 4, Mafia: The Old Country, BioShock creator Ken Levine's Judas, and Rockstar Games behemoth Grand Theft Auto 6 all on the way.

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Paradox are buying Haemimont Games, developers of Surviving Mars and several Tropico games

Paradox are buying Bulgarian game developer Haemimont Games, the developers of strategy games including several in the Tropico and Jagged Alliance series. The two companies previously worked together on Surviving Mars, which was .

In a press release, Paradox attributed the acquisition to their "strategic focus on growing in the management games genre."

"They bring a tight-knit team with long experience in developing management games with many well received projects in their portfolio. Moreover, they have a strong creative streak, technology developed for their niche, a new IP in development and a strong culture that fits Paradox’s way of working," says Paradox CEO Fredrik Wester in the press release.

Haemimont have been producing strategy games of various kinds since 2000, often doing work-for-hire development on sequels for series created by others. They developed Tropico 3, 4 and 5, all , and 2023's Jagged Alliance 3, . They don't own the rights to those IP, so don't expect future entries in either series from Haemimont and Paradox.

This acquisition does reunite Haemimont with Surviving Mars, the citybuilder they developed for Paradox about building a home on the red planet. Three years after release, ongoing development of DLC was taken over by a different studio, Abstraction Games, while Haemimont moved off to other projects. Paradox Interactive : Iceflake Studios' post-apocalyptic citybuilder Surviving The Aftermath and Rocket Flair Studios' deep-sea citybuilder Surviving The Abyss. Neither successor was as well received as the first, which Alec had enjoyed a lot in his Surviving Mars review. The press release only names an unnamed "new IP", however, so who knows whether anything Surviving-based might come of this down the line.

Paradox have been having a rough time in the recent past, and last year we spoke to them at length about their future plans. They feel that there's no point competing with XCOM, and that players are less accepting of bugs now, and their intent is to therefore focus on fewer, more polished games within their core market of strategy games. They would still like to take another swing at a life simulation game though, even after cancelling Life By You and closing its studio, Paradox Tectonic.

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Monster Hunter Wilds' next open betas will let players fight flagship monster Arkveld for the first time

We already knew two more Monster Hunter Wilds open betas were on the way ahead of this month's launch, but Capcom has now shared a few more details - confirming they'll give players a chance to go up against flagship monster Arkveld for the first time.

That announcement came courtesy of Capcom's latest Monster Hunter Wilds Showcase, which kicked things off with a brand-new trailer. Notably, this offered a first look at the Iceshard Cliffs biome, which join Wilds' previously revealed Windward Plains, Scarlet Forest, and Oilwell Basin. It also unveiled new monster Hirabami - an ice-dwelling leviathan with the ability to float and a pincer-style tail - alongside confirmation of two more returning monsters: the spider-like Nerscylla and the Gore Magala, first seen in Monster Hunter 4.

Capcom also took a few moments to hightlight some of Wilds' customisation capabilities. It will, for instance, be possible to customise your pop-up camp, adjusting its layout, adding furniture, changing tent patterns and colours, selecting background music, and more. That's alongside the ability to alter your Seikret's colours and decorations as the story progresses.

Elsewhere, fashion fans can delight in the news layered armour is now automatically registered whenever players craft its original High Rank counterpart, rather than having to unlock it through other means. Show-offs won't be using Guild Cards to display their style choices this time around, however; they've been replaced with Hunter Profiles, promising "more elements than ever". Capcom also confirmed a photo mode - with settings including camera view and depth of field - that'll pause the game when used in online single-player mode.

That single-player online mode - designed for people who want to play without joining a lobby, and which can temporarily be turned to multiplayer by firing off an SOS flare - is one of the attributes that'll debut in Monster Hunter Wilds' two upcoming open betas, alongside private lobbies and a new base camp training area for solo play.

Additionally, open beta players can confront Monster Hunter Wilds' new flagship monster Arkveld, AKA the White Wraith. This fearsome beast capabilities "chain-like appendages extending from its wings", and will be available as part of a "special advanced quest" that's described as being "rather dangerous". February's open beta also includes a new Gypceros hunt, and that's alongside the character creation, story trial, and Doshaguma hunt seen in last year's beta.

February's first open beta runs for four days beginning on 6th February at 7pm PT (that's 3am on 7th February in the UK) and its second runs from 13th-16th February, with timings remaining the same. Cross-platform multiplayer is enabled for both tests, and players can transfer their characters (but not their progress) to the full game. Participants also get a bonus pendant and an item pass that'll unlock in the full release. Additionally, Monster Hunter World and Iceborne owners will receive Palico equipment and a Hunter Profile name plate if they pick up Wilds.

Monster Hunter Wilds launches for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on 28th February, and Capcom has confirmed it'll start introducing limited-time event quests - featuring "special looks" as rewards - one week after its release. More updates will follow.

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