Hitman developer IO has announced that the planned Hitman mission in the controversial and poorly received game MindsEye is no longer going ahead.
IO published MindsEye through its IOI Partners program, but the Danish developer has announced the conclusion of the publishing deal with MindsEye developer Build A Rocket Boy following numerous controversies related to the game.
“Both IOI Partners and Build A Rocket Boy recognize the anticipation this collaboration generated among the community and express their appreciation for the support shown by the players,” IO said.
Going forward, Build A Rocket Boy will take over as the sole publisher of MindsEye. “IOI Partners and BARB are coordinating closely to ensure a seamless transition over the coming weeks,” the publisher said.
In January this year, Insider Gaming reported that IO was planning to end its publishing deal with Build A Rocket Boy for MindsEye, and that the Hitman mission in MindsEye would be canceled, so the announcement today confirms that report.
The report said the decision to go their separate ways came from Build A Rocket Boy, not IO.
The Hitman mission in MindsEye was announced at Summer Game Fest 2025. It was never fully detailed, but the plan was for Hitman’s Agent 47 to be a playable character in MindsEye for a specific mission.
IOI Partners is a third-party publishing arm of the Hitman developer, and MindsEye was the publisher’s first game. IO CEO Hakan Abrak told IGN that Build A Rocket Boy had “some great ideas” and IO wanted to “support them” with a deal for distribution. MindsEye launched in June 2025 and was heavily criticized for its many and serious technical issues. Abrak said this wasn’t what Build A Rocket Boy or IOI Partners wanted to see, and now he can’t say if IOI Partners will continue to exist in the future.
“So, IO Interactive will publish our own games internally,” Abrak said. “IOI Partners? That remains to be seen.”
Build A Rocket Boy laid off staff shortly after MindsEye released, but maintained that it was not giving up on its efforts to turn things around. Developers slammed management in an open letter, including former Rockstar Games boss Leslie Benzies, the founder of BARB. Co-CEO Mark Gerhard, meanwhile, said there was concerted effort to trash the game and went on to blame its poor reception on corporate sabotage.
Benzies is now on leave, according to Insider Gaming. “He is simply taking a short, planned break following this intense period of work,” Gerhard said.
Benzies appeared in the Epstein files over allegations by Epstein victim Sarah Ransome, who sued Epstein in 2017 for alleged sex trafficking. There is no evidence that federal investigators vetted the claims Ransome made in the document, and Benzies is not otherwise linked to Epstein in the files.
