Construct a Rocket Boy, a Scotland-headquartered recreation growth firm based by one of many former lead builders behind the Grand Theft Auto franchise, at this time introduced it has raised $110 million in a Collection D spherical of funding.

The funding comes forward of the much-anticipated launch of the corporate’s first titles and immersive open world platform.

Leslie Benzies is maybe higher generally known as the previous president of Rockstar North, driving growth of its smash hit Grand Theft Auto collection ranging from the third instalment in 2001, via every subsequent title till departing the corporate in 2016 following a 17-month sabbatical. That very same yr, Benzies initiated authorized motion in opposition to his former employer, arguing that he had successfully been kicked out and denied a share of the sport’s earnings. A considerable portion of the complaints had been thrown out in courtroom two years later, with the events lastly reaching a confidential settlement in 2019.

All through a lot of this, Benzies was laying the inspiration for his subsequent huge mission.

Leslie Benzies Picture Credit: Austin Hargrave / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

Initially referred to as Royal Circus Video games (named after a prestigious deal with within the firm’s residence metropolis, Edinburgh), attorneys representing Rockstar mother or father firm Take-Two Interactive argued that the “RCG” acronym was strikingly much like Rockstar Video games (RSG), and was intentionally designed to confuse. Whether or not its name-change was a direct results of this accusation isn’t clear, however Royal Circus Video games morphed into Construct a Rocket Boy in 2018 and went on to elevate not less than $40 million in funding to develop and commercialize a collection of recent titles.

Whereas these have but to see the official gentle of day, the corporate has teased a brand new immersive open world platform referred to as All over the place, pitched as “community-driven gaming” the place gamers can construct their very own world — in what may maybe be construed as one thing akin to Roblox. And then there may be MindsEye, touted as a “story-driven motion journey.”

Each titles are slated for launch “within the close to future,” whereas the corporate can also be introducing a collection of user-generated content material (UGC) design instruments it calls Arcadia.

“I began Construct A Rocket Boy in order that I may proceed to share the tales I really like with gamers and provides them a spot to create and share,” Benzies stated in a press launch. “We imagine in a future the place recreation creation is put within the fingers of the gamers, and we are going to empower them with the instruments to assist form this imaginative and prescient with us.”

Construct a Rocket Boy’s Collection D spherical was led by New York-based funding agency RedBird Capital Companions, with participation from NetEase Video games, Galaxy Interactive, Endeavor, Alignment Progress, Woodline Companions, GTAM Companions, amongst others.

Apart from its headquarters in Edinburgh, Construct a Rocket Boy has opened extra growth hubs in Budapest (Hungary) and Montpellier (France).