Leslie Benzies, former president of Rockstar North, a development studio that has brought out titles such as Grand Theft Auto V, Red Dead Redemption, and L.A. Noire, has a brand new IP announcement. The famed producer and designer have since left Rockstar North, along with a few other colleagues, and began to pursue a new IP, one that was just revealed earlier today.
Thanks to Polygon, we’re learning of Everywhere, a code name given to a current project that Leslie Benzies, along with his crew, are currently working on. At the moment, the new studio formation does not have a name attached quite yet, but already the group is tackling on quite an ambitious title with two established offices.
Not much is known quite yet about Everywhere other than the title will apparently offer a wide variety of features that would make the game world truly immersive. Likewise, it will apparently have multiple narratives though there will be an emphasis on giving players the tools to create their own narratives, something that Leslie Benzies explained in an interview with Polygon.
“We’re building a video game. Our working title is “Everywhere.” While it’ll have many established gaming elements, we’re also including features that games haven’t touched on yet. I’d like to tell you all the stuff we’re excited about, but I have to keep the specifics under wraps for now. I can say this. 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, and do so in a deeply immersive way”
It’s been stated that this group is working with Amazon’s Lumberyard engine which will allow the developers to work more closely with the creative process and less on the grunt work in development. Likewise, we can expect some elements from the popular Grand Theft Auto franchise, but the project will still be different enough to stand on its own.
“Everywhere is very different from GTA. 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.”
So far no assets have been shown off regarding their upcoming project and with such an ambitious project in the works, it’s curious to see just how much of their promises Leslie Benzies is able to keep. Regardless, Everywhere has us intrigued and we’re interested in seeing the project as it develops.
