{"id":3721,"date":"2026-05-12T16:28:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T13:28:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gamermarkt.com\/blog\/?p=3721"},"modified":"2026-05-12T16:29:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T13:29:39","slug":"everywhere-ex-gta-developer-open-world-project-steam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gamermarkt.com\/blog\/everywhere-ex-gta-developer-open-world-project-steam\/","title":{"rendered":"Everywhere: The Ex-GTA Developer’s Ambitious Open World Platform Lands on Steam"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Leslie Benzies, who led development on every GTA game from GTA III to GTA V, brought his open world platform Everywhere to Steam through Build a Rocket Boy. After MindsEye’s troubled 2025 launch, the project’s future remains uncertain but not abandoned.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Leslie Benzies, the former president of Rockstar North who led development on every Grand Theft Auto title from GTA III through GTA V, founded Build a Rocket Boy in 2016 with a vision to create something unprecedented. That vision became Everywhere, a massively multiplayer open world platform with integrated game creation tools, now listed on Steam. Built on Unreal Engine 5 across studios in Edinburgh, Budapest, and Los Angeles, the project has been in development for nearly a decade with a team that grew to roughly 500 employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Exactly Is Everywhere?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Everywhere is not a conventional open world game. It is a platform that blends gameplay, community interaction, and user-generated content into a single persistent experience. Players arrive in Utropia City, a safe-zone hub connecting four distinct biomes with PVP and PVE elements. The platform features four main districts: a Racing District with arcade-style racing, an Entertainment District housing an art gallery, a Combat District offering third-person shooter gameplay, and The Collection for accessing user-generated content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the heart of the creation system is ARCADIA, an editor environment with reusable components called “Stamps” that let players build virtual items, game modes, and entire experiences. The comparison to Roblox is inevitable, but Everywhere differentiates itself with AAA-quality visuals powered by Unreal Engine 5. Benzies described his ambition as creating “not just a place to play, but to watch, share, create, hang out with your friends, and so much more.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Turbulent Road from Concept to Steam<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The project began in 2016 when three ex-Rockstar North employees, Benzies, Matthew Smith, and Colin Entwistle, founded Royal Circus Games. By January 2017, the team had grown to thirty. In 2018, Rockstar sent a legal challenge arguing the studio’s RCG abbreviation was too similar to its own RSG branding. The studio rebranded to Build a Rocket Boy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Development originally ran on Amazon Lumberyard before switching to Unreal Engine in November 2020. A teaser trailer debuted at Gamescom 2022, targeting a 2023 release. An invite-only alpha ran on Windows from December 5 to 18, 2023, but generated minimal buzz. A Builders Beta launched in June 2024 to test ARCADIA tools. Despite these milestones, the platform never reached a public release state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The studio secured significant investment led by Chinese tech giant NetEase and drew talent from across the industry. But the gap between ambition and delivery widened with each passing year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MindsEye: The Flagship Game That Stumbled<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To demonstrate what Everywhere could offer, Build a Rocket Boy developed MindsEye, a story-driven action-adventure thriller set in the near-future desert city of Redrock. Published by IO Interactive (the Hitman studio), MindsEye launched on June 10, 2025, across PC (Steam and Epic Games Store), PS5, and Xbox Series X|S at a $60 price point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The launch was catastrophic. MindsEye earned a 38\/100 on Metacritic for PC and 28\/100 on PS5, making it 2025’s worst-rated game according to the aggregator. Critics described outdated gameplay mechanics, an excessively simplistic narrative, rudimentary AI that barely reacted to player actions, and a litany of bugs and glitches. GamesRadar confirmed it ranked 184th out of 184 scored games on Metacritic’s 2025 roundup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Warning signs preceded the launch. The studio sent no review codes to press. Both the chief legal officer and chief financial officer resigned just two weeks before release. CEO Mark Gerhard controversially claimed on Discord that negative reviews were part of an “organised espionage” campaign, indirectly pointing at Rockstar Games. IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak publicly denied those unfounded accusations. Build a Rocket Boy subsequently laid off at least 100 workers, approximately one-fifth of its total staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did Everywhere Get Quietly Cancelled?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The status of Everywhere as a standalone platform remains murky. In May 2025, users noticed that the official Everywhere website had begun redirecting to the MindsEye page. According to a detailed Meristation analysis, Build a Rocket Boy “quietly cancelled Everywhere to focus its efforts on MindsEye” after years of unfulfilled promises. The platform was never announced for consoles and never reached a public release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the project has not been formally declared dead. Wikipedia still lists it as “upcoming,” and Build a Rocket Boy continues to hold the EVERYWHERE trademark. Some sources suggest the studio may still be planning a multiplayer open world game for 2026 that connects to the Everywhere ecosystem, with players potentially able to use MindsEye assets within the broader platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2026 Comeback Attempt<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite the disastrous launch, Build a Rocket Boy has not abandoned MindsEye. In February 2026, Update 7 arrived as the game’s most significant post-launch patch, which the studio described as “a reset for the brand and the title.” The update smoothed campaign flow, improved AI behaviour, enhanced objective clarity, and added new content for Deluxe Edition owners including a full street circuit race in Redrock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In April 2026, the studio announced it had separated from publisher IO Interactive and would self-publish going forward. A 2026 roadmap was revealed featuring multiplayer races, ARCADIA Race Builder for consoles, PC-to-console ARCADIA content migration, and a new story expansion called “Blacklisted” starring a new playable character, Julia Black, a world-class assassin on an espionage mission in Redrock City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark Gerhard stated: “We’ve listened, we’ve moved quickly, and we’re continuing to refine performance, make continuous improvements, and deliver substantial combat and gameplay enhancements.” The studio also teased plans for a multiplayer mode within MindsEye’s ARCADIA and end-game content with enhanced world exploration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Does Everywhere Compare to Fortnite and Roblox?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Everywhere’s original vision placed it in direct competition with user-generated content platforms. Roblox has dominated this space with its creator economy, while Fortnite has evolved from a PvE survival game into a multifaceted platform offering Creative Mode, Rocket Racing, Fortnite Festival, and LEGO Fortnite experiences, all powered by Unreal Engine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Meristation analysis noted that “perhaps, in an alternate timeline, Everywhere would be what Fortnite has already achieved.” The key difference is that Fortnite pivoted from an already successful product, while Everywhere attempted to launch a platform without first establishing a compelling core experience. MindsEye was meant to be that experience, but its poor reception undermined the entire strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benzies and his team consistently rejected the “metaverse” label and explicitly denied any plans for NFTs or cryptocurrency integration. Chief Development Officer Mick Hocking stated that “NFT and crypto offered nothing they needed.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Things Worth Knowing Before You Follow This Project<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Is Everywhere free to play?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The platform was planned as a free-to-play experience. MindsEye, the flagship game within it, launched as a $60 premium title. ARCADIA creation tools were made accessible to MindsEye owners, and players who spent at least 10 hours in the Everywhere beta received a free PC key for MindsEye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What platforms will Everywhere support?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Everywhere was developed exclusively for PC and was never officially announced for consoles. MindsEye is available on PC (Steam and Epic Games Store), PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, with physical editions sold at select retailers. The 2026 roadmap mentions bringing ARCADIA console support, which could hint at broader platform expansion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is MindsEye worth playing after the updates?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The February 2026 Update 7 addressed many launch complaints, and the studio has framed it as “the perfect point for players to revisit or try the experience for the first time.” Metacritic scores remain low from launch reviews, but ongoing updates and the Blacklisted expansion suggest continued investment. Whether it can achieve a Cyberpunk 2077-style redemption arc remains to be seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is Build a Rocket Boy still operational?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Yes. Despite significant layoffs and separation from IO Interactive, the studio is now self-publishing and has released a 2026 content roadmap. The team continues active development from its Edinburgh headquarters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Vision Still Searching for Its Moment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The story of Everywhere is one of the most dramatic in recent gaming history. A studio founded by one of the most accomplished developers in the industry, backed by major investment, staffed with hundreds of talented developers, and yet unable to deliver on its foundational promise after nearly a decade. MindsEye’s troubled launch turned what was supposed to be a triumphant proof of concept into one of 2025’s most notable failures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the project is not necessarily finished. Build a Rocket Boy’s 2026 roadmap, self-publishing pivot, and continued ARCADIA development suggest a studio that refuses to give up. Whether Everywhere will ever fulfil its original vision as a player-driven open world platform, or whether it joins the ranks of Daikatana and Too Human as a cautionary tale of unchecked ambition, the next twelve months should provide a clearer answer. Its Steam listing, at the very least, keeps the door open.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Leslie Benzies, who led development on every GTA game from GTA III to GTA V, brought his open world platform Everywhere to Steam through Build a Rocket Boy. After MindsEye’s troubled 2025 launch, the project’s future remains uncertain but not abandoned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":3722,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[285],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gaming-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gamermarkt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gamermarkt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gamermarkt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gamermarkt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gamermarkt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3721"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gamermarkt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3721\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3723,"href":"https:\/\/www.gamermarkt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3721\/revisions\/3723"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gamermarkt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gamermarkt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gamermarkt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gamermarkt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}