MindsEye was one of last year’s worst-reviewed games. It was published by IO Interactive and was supposed to get a special Hitman crossover mission. According to a new report from Insider Gaming, that’s no longer happening and developer Build a Rocket Boy and IO Interactive have decided to bail on the failed joint venture.
What this means for the future of MindsEye, once pitched as the first building block in an ambitious open-world metaverse called Everywhere, is currently unclear. But apparently the Hitman mission, the shooter’s highest-profile bit of upcoming content, is canceled.
Build a Rocket Boy and IO Interactive didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The most surprising part of Insider Gaming’s report is that Build a Rocket Boy was apparently the one pushing to end the ill-fated partnership, a decision influenced by the ex-Grand Theft Auto producer-led studio’s “desire to bring its publishing in-house and gain more control over its future.”
IOI Interactive and Build A Rocket Boy announced the deal that would see the Hitman maker publish MindsEye, the first third-party game distributed through IOI Interactive’s IO Partners program, back in October 2024. The Hitman mission was announced onstage at Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest 2025, but later delayed amid layoffs and Build a Rocket Boy’s rush to clean up MindsEye’s messy launch.
IOI Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak commented on the debacle during an interview with IGN last September. “Well, that was definitely tough, right?” he said at the time. “It was a tough reception. It wasn’t what they hoped for, and also what we didn’t hope for at IOI Partners. They’re working hard on turning that around to regain the trust of the gamers out there, and they have tons of potential and content they’re working on. So hopefully they’ll succeed with that in the future.”
Perhaps the only people who will truly be distraught at this news are the streamers and content creators who are still being paid to promote MindsEye. At least we’ll know for sure IOI Interactive had been the one bankrolling the sponsored content should the “#MindsEyePartner”-tagged streams suddenly come to an end in the near future.
