Build A Rocket Boy showcased its teaser trailer for Everywhere at Gamescom Opening Night Live yesterday, and the game is already fraught with controversy. Namely, the rumors that the game will feature NFTs, a highly controversial technology that many gamers despise.
These rumors started circulating after some fans noticed job openings for blockchain engineers and programmers on the Edinburgh-based developer’s website and LinkedIn page following its reveal. The reveal trailer makes no mention of this technology, which made some interested people feel misled. The company took to Reddit to clarify what those positions are and that it’s not ruling out the inclusion of NFTs or other blockchain technology in the game.
“We’re seeing some conversation on NFTs/Cryptos that are prompted by some of our open positions on our website,” Build A Rocket Boy wrote. “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.”
This statement implies that Build A Rocket Boy is investigating blockchain technology, despite the controversy NFTs have caused throughout the games industry. Last month, for example, Square Enix decided to bundle NFTs with 25th-anniversary Final Fantasy 7 figures, which countered the game’s ecological themes. Overall, that statement leaves us with more questions than answers about Build A Rocket Boy’s prospects with NFTs.
The dev described Everywhere as a “multi-world game experience that blurs the line between reality and the digital world,” which implies that it is following Meta’s footsteps in making it a metaverse-type game. Assistant director Adam Whiting said as much during his interview with Gamescom host Geoff Keighley. “We are passionate about making games and telling stories, but ultimately we made Everywhere to be the place where players can make their own experiences, be who they want to be, and tell their own stories,” Whiting said. “But we’re still passionate about making immersive and cinematic experiences that players can get lost in and enjoy,” Whiting explained.
While Build A Rocket Boy says Everywhere is not built on the blockchain, it didn’t outright confirm that NFTs would never come to the game, which is still concerning. Everywhere will be released in 2023, and Build A Rocket Boy clearly has a lot it needs to clarify ahead of launch.
The Call of Duty franchise has held a special place in my heart ever since I played my first Black Ops game back in 2010. That game's campaign was something else, with twists and turns that culminated in a mind-blowing finale. We can all admit that compared to those older campaigns, the recent CODs have been lackluster at best, and a complete and utter disappointment at worst. The reboot of Modern Warfare did give me some hope, as the first two installments were actually quite good, but the third game left such a bad taste in my mouth that I wasn’t exactly expecting much from Modern Warfare 4.
After recently finishing the campaign, I can say that this installment is nothing like the recent releases and instead feels closer to the franchise’s roots. For the first time in a long while, the campaign comes across as well-crafted rather than rushed to hit a release date. It arrives three years after MW3, and you can see exactly where all that time went. It seems the studio finally made listening to player feedback a priority.
Epic Games has just announced the 2026 Epic AI MegaJam, which is looking to see how much game development can be squeezed into a very short window. This is running from November 12 through November 15.
Participants can work alone or in teams of up to five people, build in Unreal Engine or Unreal Editor for Fortnite, and bring along “as many AI agents as you want.” Epic explicitly encourages coding agents, AI-generated assets, audio tools, writing tools, and other AI systems. The official event page literally says "Vibe your way to $50k.”
It’s turning into a pretty good time to be a Monster Hunter fan who plays on a phone. Capcom has confirmed that Monster Hunter Outlanders will launch on Android and iOS on October 29, giving the series a new mobile-first game just as Monster Hunter Rise is also preparing to make the jump to smartphones through Netflix.
Outlanders is being developed by Tencent subsidiary TiMi Studio Group under license and supervision from Capcom. Unlike Rise, which appears to be the full console and PC game adapted for mobile, Outlanders is a free-to-play survival hunting game made specifically for phones.