Former Rockstar North CEO Prepares Competition for GTA
Former head of Rockstar North creates competition for the GTA series. In the new round of financing he received 42 million dollars from the Chinese company NetEase and other entities.
- Leslie Benzies has opened a new studio after he left Rockstar North.
- In 2017 he announced his first game, Everywhere.
- He raised another 42 million dollars in the last round of funding. He was supported by the Chinese company NetEase.
Leslie Benzies, former head of Rockstar North, is preparing to compete with the Grand Theft Auto series. In the next round of financing his new studio, Build a Rocket Boy, he received 42 million dollars from, among others, the Chinese company NetEase.
The funds he raised are to help develop a rival for the GTA series. Benzies, together with some of his Rockstar North colleagues, is working on their first game named Everywhere. According to his words from 2017, when he announced the game, the title is to revolutionize the concept of freedom in the open world.
"Everywhere have many established gaming elements, we’re also including features that games haven’t touched on yet. We want this game to be less restrictive than other games. While the game has multiple narratives, we also want players to create their own narratives that include characters with a real personality. If we do this right, we’re going to give players the chance to really live out their fantasies, not just the limited fantasies that most games set up for them".
Everywhere is powered by the Lumberyard engine, which was created when Amazon acquired the license of CryEngine and modified it significantly to meet its own needs. According to Kotaku, GTA 6 is still a long way from launch. So Benzies is not standing on a lost position and has a chance to prove that the legend of a man who is said to be able to salvage every project is not an exaggeration.
