Everywhere is a new AAA game by Leslie Benzies, the mastermind behind GTA III, IV, and V. Essentially, it aims to be everything: MMO, shooter, racing game, horror game, and above all, a toolbox for new games that players can build themselves. For MeinMMO editor Alexander Leitsch, this sounds like a dream come true.
Everywhere will be a free-to-play title with a large, open, colorful sci-fi game world where you can roam around and experience various activities. These include PvE and PvP battles, racing in various vehicles, and finding treasures. For all activities, you will receive rewards in the form of XP and in-game currencies.
A core element will also be a large city that serves as a social meeting point where hundreds of players can roam around. In the entertainment area, you can watch movies and videos together. Virtual concerts like in Fortnite or the exhibition of artworks will also be possible in the “artist quarter”.
But that is just one aspect of the game. There are also supposed to be multiple games that you can enter within the game, including MindsEye, a single-player story shooter with horror elements. So even if you can’t make sense of the MMO world, you will still get your money’s worth.
Additionally, there will be a huge editor with which you can create your own games. While there are limits – everything takes place in a third-person view and a 3D world – within this environment, you should be able to let your creativity run loose. The games you create can then be tried out with friends and even complete strangers in instantiated areas.
The game is being developed by Build A Rocket Boy. This is the new studio of Leslie Benzies, who joined RockStar in 2001 and left the studio in 2016. According to IGN, he has been working with hundreds of developers on Everywhere for 5 years.
Few screenshots and gameplay, but my imagination is already bursting at the seams
Everywhere fascinates me. Overall, it reminds me a lot of the concept of Roblox, but somehow more mature and larger. Even though there is currently very little concrete information and no real gameplay has been shown, dozens of cool scenarios have already formed in my head.
I enjoy playing various MMOs, constantly switching between New World, Guild Wars 2, Black Desert, and many other games. However, this has consequences:
- I need a new avatar for each world, and often my desired name is already taken.
- Each game controls a bit differently and has various settings. You constantly adjust to different controls, like which button to use to interact with NPCs.
- My friends often only play one of my games.
- I have to remember dozens of account details.
With a platform like Everywhere, this could change. I could play multiple games in one game and dive into these worlds and make progress with a single avatar. Suddenly, quick switches from my one group of friends, who are currently deep into an MMORPG, to my other group, which is playing a shooter together, would be possible.
And all of this would be consolidated into one account. As an MMORPG player, I love grinding, increasing numbers like levels and currencies. But success in one game brings me nothing in another. That would be a bit different here.
In addition, I could work on my own game with friends, like we did nearly 10 years ago in Minecraft. Back then, we built a small, rudimentary MMORPG that was incredibly fun. We also loved trying out various crazy custom maps in Garry’s Mod.
And when nothing works in video games, we also enjoy sitting together on Discord watching movies or videos on YouTube. This should be possible with Everywhere as well.
Essentially, Everywhere could replace numerous games and also Discord as a place for social exchange, as well as provide the opportunity to develop your own games and mods. That sounds really good.
It sounds like a place where I can escape from reality and deeply immerse myself. It’s no coincidence that there have already been several comparisons of Everywhere to the movie Ready Player One, even though the new game is not intended for VR but only for PC and consoles.
Big plans, but also big question marks
So far, I only know Everywhere through its own website and from previews by IGN and the colleagues from GameStar Plus. Much still seems vague. There is no statement yet on some matters, such as monetization.
Whether the game can meet my expectations even to some extent is currently completely unclear. But it is something new, something fresh, and not the 12th Asian MMORPG or another generic shooter.
For me, Everywhere sounds most like what I could accept as a “metaverse”. And we should get a first playable version as early as 2023. I am very excited about it!
What do you think about Everywhere? Does the game sound interesting to you, or is it all “too meta” and too unfocused on a specific gameplay aspect?
Another interesting aspect regarding the development of MMORPGs is the deep dive. More about it here:
