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31st Union

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31st Union
Formerly2K Silicon Valley (2019–2020)
Company typeDivision
FoundedFebruary 4, 2019; 5 years ago (February 4, 2019)
FounderMichael Condrey
Headquarters
San Mateo, California
,
US
Number of locations
2 studios (2021)
Key people
Michael Condrey
Parent2K
Websitethirtyfirstunion.com

31st Union is a video game development studio of 2K based in San Mateo, California, with a studio in Valencia, Spain. It was founded in February 2019, then provisionally named 2K Silicon Valley, with Sledgehammer Games co-founder Michael Condrey as its lead.[1]

History

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2K announced in February 2020 that the studio was officially named 31st Union, a nod to its San Francisco Bay Area roots and based on California being the 31st state to join the United States. Condrey said in the announcement that the studio's ideals reflected the diversity of California's and Silicon Valley's spirit of innovation in art, technology, and entertainment and cultural representation.[2] Condrey had committed to establishing the culture of this studio on its founding, calling it "a clean canvas", and stressed the importance of diversity[3] in the creative process.[4] In addition to the new branding, 2K also announced plans to open a second studio for 31st Union in Spain.[2]

The current Silicon Valley studio, in addition to Condrey, includes several dozen former Call of Duty / Sledgehammer Games and Dead Space / Visceral Games developers.[2] The studio, as of February 2020, was working on a "ambitious and inspired new IP",[5] and which was to be revealed within 2020, according to 2K.[6]

Michael Chu, previously the narrative director for Blizzard Entertainment's Overwatch, joined 31st Union in July 2020 as their narrative director.[7]

On November 9, 2021, 2K acquired Elite3D, rebranding it as a 31st Union studio and a 2K Publishing arm.[8]

On January 19 2024, it was reported that 31st Union had let go a small number of employees. The company confirmed it had laid off "less than 10" employees.[9]

On October 17 2024, 31st Union and 2K announced Project Ethos, a free-to-play roguelike hero third-person shooter, for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.[10]

References

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  1. ^ Crecente, Brian (February 4, 2019). "Sledgehammer Games Co-Founder Opens New 2K Game Studio". Variety. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Takahashi, Dean (February 11, 2020). "2K Silicon Valley's official studio name will be 31st Union". Venture Beat. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  3. ^ "2K Silicon Valley studio becomes 31st Union and expands to Spain". GamesIndustry.biz. February 11, 2020. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  4. ^ Dring, Christopher (February 4, 2019). "Take-Two hires games veteran Michael Condrey to form new, diverse studio". Venture Beat. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  5. ^ Ivan, Tom (February 11, 2020). "2K's new 31st Union studio is making an 'ambitious and inspired original IP'". Video Games Chronicle. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  6. ^ Saed, Sharif (February 7, 2020). "Mafia 3 dev's next game and 2K Silicon Valley's first project will be unveiled in the coming months". VG247. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  7. ^ Oloman, Jordon (February 21, 2021). "Overwatch Ex-Lead Writer Working on a New 'Multiplayer Character-Action Game' for 2K". IGN. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  8. ^ "2K Acquires Studio That Worked On Diablo, Star Wars, Call Of Duty, And More Big Franchises". GameSpot. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  9. ^ McEvoy, Sophie (January 19, 2024). "31st Union lays off "small number" of staff". gamesindustry.biz. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  10. ^ "2K and 31st Union announce free-to-play roguelike hero third-person shooter Project ETHOS for PS5, Xbox Series, and PC". October 17, 2024. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
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