Games guru Gerhard rides another rocket to the stars

PlayFusion CEO and CTO Mark Gerhard is joining Build a Rocket Boy and will share the helm with the Scottish company’s Leslie Benzies as co-chief exec.

The combination of the two powerhouse independent studios is set to accelerate growth as Build A Rocket Boy continues to develop three core flagship products.

The triple play in question comprises the AAA narrative-driven action thriller game MindsEye; next-generation immersive gaming and entertainment open world platform EVERYWHERE; and a suite of AAA UGC design and publishing tools ARCADIA.

Gerhard will focus on Build A Rocket Boy’s upcoming pipeline of AAA games, UGC tools and drive business growth with broader ambitions to expand the platform into multiple entertainment spaces.

Along with the founding team, Gerhard launched PlayFusion in 2015. He was previously CEO & CTO of Cambridge-based Jagex – best known for RuneScape, which holds multiple Guinness World Records for the largest Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game with more than 250 million player accounts.

Benzies is recognised for his genre-defining contributions to video game creation. His decades of experience in developing, producing, directing and designing video games have made him a pioneer in the industry.

He will continue to serve as CEO and Game Director of Build A Rocket Boy, maintaining his vision of creating compelling and immersive entertainment content and a new era of gaming.

Benzies said: “We’ve always admired PlayFusion’s creativity and innovative approach to transmedia entertainment and joining forces with them will ascend Build A Rocket Boy to our next level of excellence.

“Our vision has always been to put creativity into the hands of the players and PlayFusion’s shared passion for gaming will help us create a robust offering for our community to seamlessly build their own AAA quality games and create compelling original online experiences soon.”

Gerhard added: “It’s truly an honour and a privilege to join forces with Leslie and the legendary team at Build A Rocket Boy at such a formative time for the video games industry.

“We have immense drive for delighting our players and we share an exciting vision for the future. This next chapter of our combined studios will deliver on that promise as well as disrupt the industry by democratising premium game development.

“The core team at PlayFusion has been working together for nearly two decades and we are excited to be at the forefront of ushering in a new era of gaming.”

Build A Rocket Boy announced in January 2024 that it had closed on an over $110 million Series D fundraising round, led by RedBird Capital Partners and existing and new investors, including Alignment Growth, Endeavor, Galaxy Interactive, GTAM Partners, NetEase Games, Woodline Partners, and others.

Founded in 2016, the company is headquartered in Edinburgh with studios in Budapest and Montpellier.

Its team is said to include “hundreds of the industry’s brightest development talents with the shared vision to create new and innovative entertainment experiences.”