Everywhere, a new multiplayer game that sounds a bit metaverse-y, was announced yesterday during Gamescom's Opening Night Live. Since then, concerns have been pouring in from viewers who point to blockchain job postings that Everywhere might be built on the technology. Today, studio Build A Rocket Boy, responded to those concerns.
Styling itself as a "multi-world gaming experience" that "seamlessly blends gameplay, adventure, creativity and discovery," Everywhere opened ONL yesterday while not exactly giving up much information as to what all those buzzwords really mean. As it stands, it sounds a bit like what developers are trying to capture when replicating the success of games like ROBLOX, while also standing on the descriptions of games that are openly trying to build a "metaverse."
However, viewers were quick to find recent job postings that saw the company, helmed by former Grand Theft Auto producer Leslie Benzies, looking for developers with blockchain experience. This makes some feel that the inclusion of blockchain will open the door to NFTs in the upcoming title.
The team at Build A Rocket Boy responded to the speculation in a post on the official Reddit earlier today, hoping to tamp down the rumors that Everywhere is built on the blockchain.
"We’re seeing some conversation on NFTs/Cryptos that are prompted by some of our open positions on our website.
These are research positions, as we do not like dismissing new technologies only because others haven’t found a solution for them yet. We are building Everywhere on Unreal Engine 5, not the blockchain. We are creating a new world for players, where we come together to play, watch, create, share, and so much more!
We hope this helps clarify some of the speculations around this topic."
Some Redditors responding to the post are quick to point out that blockchain technology and a game engine are two separate entities, and that blockchain and NFTs can be integrated into games powered by Unreal (see Gala Games' battle royale Grit).
While it's still early going here (the game was announced just recently), it'll be interesting to see how this holds up. No where in the statement does BARB rule out the fact that blockchain and NFTs won't be in Everywhere in the future.
