GTA 5 designer raises $110m to take on Cyberpunk 2077 and Fortnite at their own games

A new game development company founded by the former president of Rockstar North, Leslie Benzies, has raised funds to work on projects that could take on some of the biggest names in gaming.

As reported by GlobeNewswire on Jan. 17, independent game developer and publisher Build A Rocket Boy raised over $110 million for the development of an “immersive gaming and entertainment open world platform,” called EVERYWHERE, and a AAA game series built within it called MindsEye. Judging by the descriptions of these projects, they might bring some much-needed competition to established gaming giants like Cyberpunk 2077 and Fortnite.

The open-world platform EVERYWHERE is described as a “multi-world game experience” that has “endless possibilities” and blurs the lines between reality and the digital world. The project will feature both single-player and multiplayer experiences and a “best-in-class UGC tools set” to reimagine the video game creator economy. Snippets of EVERYWHERE‘s gameplay have already been shown in the trailer, and it even had its first alpha in December 2023.

It sounds and looks very much like what Epic Games is building with Fortnite, with a similar visual style and a level creator that allows you to make whatever you like. A competitor would have to offer something very unique, considering the sheer scale of Fortnite with all its collaborations and the power of the Unreal Editor to create custom games. That said, what seemingly sets EVERYWHERE apart is it being a hub for other games, like MindsEye.

MindsEye is a AAA sci-fi series said to potentially rival Cyberpunk 2077 with its story and visuals. The game explores “key societal issues,” including the explosion of AI, the rise of military robots, and the impending climate crisis. In a short trailer released in March 2023, we got to see some spectacular shots that are all claimed to be in-game footage.

The topics raised in MindsEye are also something we’ve encountered in Night City, particularly the fight against big corporations that love using armed mechs and implanting tech in the main character’s brain. If you’ve played through the story of Cyberpunk, you’ll know AI is also a whole separate topic, from funny interactions with Delamain to the Black Wall and cyber ghosts like Alt Cunningham. Just like Fortnite, Cyberpunk set a bar that won’t be easy to match, not to mention surpassing it.

There’s no set release date or window for any of the projects just yet, but the report claimed Build A Rocket Boy plans to launch EVERYWHERE and the first episode of MindsEye in the “near future.” While it could be as early as this year, we’ll have to wait for official confirmation to be sure.