And the project will be spearheaded by none other than the former Rockstar Games president.
For many years now, Grand Theft Auto has reigned supreme among free-roaming action-adventure games, with the series offering expansive 3D worlds that allow limitless exploration and mischief for its players. Now, though, it looks like it’ll have a major competitor, as the former Rockstar North president has bagged a $42 million investment to develop a similar game, called Everywhere, that will look to dethrone GTA.
Leslie Benzies served as the executive producer for GTA 3, 4 & 5, and his work is also credited on several other titles in the hugely successful series. Armed with this colossal financial backing, Benzies’ new title Everywhere is set to be quite some game, and it’s hard not to see it becoming a worldwide hit.
His development studio, Build a Rocket Boy, recently acquired their multi-million dollar package from Cayman funds and cryptocurrency investors, according to data that comes from the Beauhurst consultancy.
Futuristic Freedom
As per a report from The Telegraph, Everywhere takes the open-world game format that GTA players will be familiar with, but with a science-fiction twist. According to the Telegraph article, ‘technology has brought humankind to the precipice’ in what will be an enormous multiplayer world that is just asking to be explored.
Rockstar’s former president compiled investments for the new sci-fi video game in his company’s latest funding spree from parties such as Galaxy Interactive, Netease, and Makers. He left his role at Rockstar back in 2016 in a move that was surrounded by controversy. After he left, the game-developing giants threatened legal action over the name of Benzies’ new studio, as they believed its acronym was too close to that of Rockstar Games (RSG). The Build a Rocket Boy founder was also accused of trying to steal developers from his former company.
The ensuing legal battle lasted from 2016 to 2019, and it saw Benzies countering Rockstar’s accusations by claiming that their parent company, Take-Two Interactive, was guilty of ‘numerous deceptions’. He then sued them for $150 million in unpaid royalties, further suggesting that he had been cast out of the company. All disputes have now been resolved, though.
GTA V, Benzies’ outright masterpiece, quickly became the most profitable video game of all time, grossing more than $6bn and selling more than 135 million copies. Based on this success alone, we can’t wait to see what Everywhere has in store.
