Expectations were high for the first game from Build a Rocket Boy (Barb), the studio founded by former Grand Theft Auto producer Leslie Benzies after his departure from Rockstar North in 2016. Benzies was one of the key leadership figures that had overseen GTA's rise from a pioneering open world romp into a global cultural phenomenon, and Barb's first big project was supposed to be Everywhere: a multiplayer RPG in a futuristic open world where, ultimately, players would be able to author their own experiences.
Everywhere was hugely ambitious and backed by the staggering sums that Benzies' reputation could attract: Barb had raised £233 million by 2024, and by the end of that year boasted 448 staff. But it didn't have a game it could release and, with Everywhere's ambitious scope, a decision was made at some point to shift focus to MindsEye, which had begun as an in-game experience that was part of Everywhere.
