2K Games Unveils New Hero Shooter Project Ethos, And You Can Play It Today

2K Games has unveiled its first-ever free-to-play live-service shooter, Project Ethos, via an announcement trailer and a community playtest that anyone can take part in.

Developed by 31st Union, 2K describes Project Ethos as a "third-person roguelike hero shooter" with a focus on randomized upgrades (called Evolutions) that allow players to tailor each hero to their specific playstyle.

"Shape your playstyle every match through Evolutions: powerful, semi-randomized, upgrades unique to each hero," 2K shared in a press release announcing the game. "Evolve a sniper into a close-range skirmisher, or a support role into a powerful lone wolf. Build your hero in real-time to suit your personal playstyle."

The community playtest provides access to two modes: Trials and Gauntlet. Trials--described by 2K as the game's "signature mode"--sees squads of up to three players teaming up to take down the competition while collecting cores. Cores are a resource that can be exchanged for Augments, which--as the name suggests--fuel players' future Trials runs. Squads can head to the extraction point at any time during the match, but early extractions mean fewer cores, so the ultimate goal is to stay alive as long as possible and maximize the amount of cores collected prior to extraction. Players who have been downed can be picked up by teammates, and those who have been killed can be respawned at Respawn Beacons (as long as at least one squad member is still alive, of course).

Gauntlet mode is a more intense experience, described by 2K as a "competitive head-to-head tournament mode" in which squads face off against enemy teams of a similar skill level. Heroes can be upgraded between each match, and the ultimate goal is to be the last squad standing. Players who bite the dust in this mode cannot be respawned, but will automatically respawn at the beginning of the next match.

According to 2K and 31st Union, "The best way to learn about Project Ethos is to play it." The game's community playtest is currently live, and can be accessed via Twitch Drop after watching 30 minutes of select content creators' livestreams. The playtest is only accessible to players living in the US, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy.

The Project Ethos playtest will be accessible at the following times:

North American countries:

• October 17: 9 AM - 11 PM PT
• October 18-20: 11 AM - 11 PM PT

European countries:

• October 17: 5 PM - 1 AM GMT+1
• October 18-21: 1 PM - 1 AM GMT+1

2K and 31st Union have not yet announced Project Ethos' official release date, but players can find more information on both Project Ethos and its community playtest via the game's official website.