Activision is building an open-world game with a heavy focus on reactive systems, according to a job listing at its new studio Elsewhere. The posting, which MP1st picked up, is the only evidence so far, and no title, platform or release date has been announced. But the wording points at the kind of sandbox that GTA and Cyberpunk 2077 made profitable, which is a notable direction for a publisher best known for linear shooters.
What the job listing says
Elsewhere is recruiting an Associate Animation Director whose work splits into two jobs: building interactions for a dynamic world and defining emergent gameplay. As quoted by MP1st, the posting says the hire will guide “the development of scalable animation systems that support emergent gameplay, contextual behaviors, and dynamic world interactions.” It never names another game, so any comparison to GTA or Cyberpunk 2077 is MP1st’s reading rather than the studio’s own framing.
The hiring also hints at the team’s pedigree. MP1st reports that Elsewhere has pulled in veterans from studios including CD Projekt Red and Naughty Dog, which would give a new studio real experience in large, story-heavy worlds. That’s a report rather than a confirmed roster, and the posting itself doesn’t list names.
What emergent gameplay means here
Emergent gameplay describes moments nobody scripted: AI, physics and world rules collide, and the outcome is something the developers didn’t plan. MP1st’s example is GTA 5, where a scuffle with a pedestrian can send that person running into a gang member, who then fires a shot that hits a police car, and suddenly the cops and the gang are in a firefight while the player watches from the side. Every player ends up with a different story, which is why the approach is so prized in big open worlds.
“Contextual behaviours” and “dynamic world interactions” also suggest a game that reacts to the player, in the vein of Red Dead Redemption 2. MP1st speculates this could mean characters who remember what you did, places that change as you move through them, or NPCs who hold grudges, as in the Nemesis System from Shadow of War. None of that is confirmed. It’s an interpretation of broad job-ad language, and the final design could look quite different.
A shift for Activision
If the project is the open-world game it appears to be, it marks a change of pace for Activision. MP1st notes the publisher is more at home with linear experiences like Call of Duty, and says its last true open-world release was Prototype 2 in 2012. A fresh studio with a clean slate is a sensible place to try something new, rather than asking an existing team to step out of its comfort zone.
The timing is also telling. Open-world games are a crowded field, with CD Projekt Red’s new IP Hadar also revealed as an open-world project, and GTA 6 expected to raise the bar for ambition and emergent systems. MP1st’s view is that Elsewhere isn’t necessarily trying to beat those games, only to carve out its own place in the genre they defined. That’s a realistic aim for a first project, though a job posting says nothing yet about scope, setting or how far along development is.
What we don’t know
Activision hasn’t confirmed the project, and the listing is the only public clue to what Elsewhere is making. There’s no word on whether the game is a new IP or tied to an existing Activision franchise, and nothing on platforms or a launch window. Studios in this position typically stay quiet for a long time, so we’d treat the listing as an early signal rather than a preview. We’ll update this story if Activision or Elsewhere says anything official.
Has Activision officially announced this open-world game?
No. The only public evidence is a job posting at the Elsewhere studio, as reported by MP1st. There’s no title, platform list or release date.
What is emergent gameplay?
It’s what happens when a game’s systems, such as AI, physics and world rules, interact in ways the developers didn’t script. The result is unplanned moments that differ from player to player, like a street altercation snowballing into a police shootout in GTA 5.
Is Elsewhere making a GTA or Cyberpunk clone?
There’s no evidence of that. The listing doesn’t name either game, and MP1st says the studio seems to be aiming to find its own place in the open-world genre rather than copy or outdo the biggest names.
