A brand new open-world title has been announced by a new studio led by former president of Rockstar North, Leslie Benzies.
“The working title of this new game is ‘EVERYWHERE‘ and the vision is long term, with the capacity to develop and grow forever,” Benzies explained. “Our goal is to create a platform where players can be entertained, and also entertain others while blurring the lines between reality, and a simulated world.”
It’s clear that the game will take inspiration from games like Red Dead Redemption and the Grand Theft Auto series, but Benzies reassures that Everywhere will be different in its own way. In an interview with Polygon, Benzies states that “there may be parts of our game that include satire but the tone will be very different and at times our players will be in control of how the tone is set.”
Freedom is a key theme in what the studio plans to do with their newest title. Like the title suggests, the game is being developed to offer a wide variety of possibilities and player interactions, expanding on what is already common in your typical open-world game.
Everywhere is being developed using Amazon’s Lumberyard. A press release accompanying the announcement described it as an “AAA game engine deeply integrated with Amazon WebServices (AWS), including Amazon GameLift and Twitch.”
Speaking on the services of Lumberyard, Benzies explained that the client and cloud services allow the team to focus on the innovative and creative elements of Everywhere.
Benzies left Rockstar back at the start of 2016, but later started a legal battle for $150 million in unpaid royalties with his former employer.
The new studio has an office in Edinburgh, Scotland and in Los Angeles. Benzies is joined by Matthew Smith and Colin Entwistle, both former Rockstar employees themselves. Everywhere is still early in development and does not have a release date.
