Just when Project Ethos was starting to look like a promising entry in the free-to-play shooter arena, 2K has gone and dropped a grenade in their own base. According to TechRaptor, 2K has laid off staff at 31st Union, the studio behind the upcoming title, casting a very long shadow over the game's future.
The timing here is about as awkward as accidentally sprinting off a cliff in your first hour of a new game. The layoffs come despite what TechRaptor describes as "rather optimistic corporate messaging" from 2K - which, at this point, might as well be a loading screen tip that says "everything is fine" while the health bar drains to zero.
What's the status of Project Ethos now?
Project Ethos is a free-to-play hero shooter that had been generating some decent pre-release buzz - the kind of buzz that makes you think a studio has a fighting chance. With staff cuts now confirmed at 31st Union, though, the development pipeline has to be looking shakier than a low-level mage in a room full of bosses.
Layoffs at a studio mid-development are never a good omen. The games industry has seen enough of these situations to know that when the headcount gets trimmed before launch, the final product - or whether there even is one - becomes a serious question mark. Project Ethos is not in a great position right now if it wants to compete in the already brutally competitive free-to-play space.
Another one for the industry layoff tracker
This is, unfortunately, yet another entry in what has become a depressingly long log of gaming industry layoffs over the past couple of years. Big publishers cutting staff at their own studios while simultaneously talking up their pipelines is starting to feel like a genre unto itself - and not a fun one.
Whether 31st Union can stick the landing with Project Ethos after this hit to its roster remains to be seen. For now, consider this one firmly in "wait and see" territory - or, if you're feeling less charitable, "probably on thin ice." Keep an eye on updates from TechRaptor as this situation develops.
