In the least surprising news of 2026, IO Interactive’s first foray into third-party publishing is officially over. IOI Partners and Build A Rocket Boy announced today that their publishing collaboration for MindsEye has concluded as of March 16, with Build A Rocket Boy assuming sole publishing responsibilities going forward. The planned Hitman crossover mission that was announced back in June 2025 has also been canceled as a result of the split.
MindsEye launched last June as a story-driven action-adventure game directed by Leslie Benzies, the former president of Rockstar North known for his work on the Grand Theft Auto series. Despite the pedigree, the game was met with overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics and players alike, landing the lowest Metacritic scores of any game released in 2025. The reception was bad enough that PlayStation reportedly began issuing refunds, which is something the company rarely does.
Things only got messier from there. Build A Rocket Boy went through multiple rounds of layoffs in the months following launch, with nearly 300 employees receiving “at risk of redundancy” emails by July 2025. Current and former developers published an open letter in October criticizing the studio’s leadership, citing burnout, mismanagement, and a lack of coherent direction. The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain also sued the studio over its handling of layoffs. More recently, co-CEO Mark Gerhard doubled down on claims that MindsEye’s failure was the result of “organized espionage and corporate sabotage,” alleging that a large American company funded a smear campaign against the game. Gerhard has said the matter is moving toward prosecution, though many in the industry remain skeptical.
For IO Interactive, the separation isn’t exactly surprising. The studio’s CEO, Hakan Abrak, previously acknowledged that MindsEye’s disastrous launch has put the future of IOI Partners as a third-party publishing label into question. MindsEye was supposed to be the debut title for the initiative, and it’s hard to imagine a rougher start than the worst-reviewed game of the year.
Build A Rocket Boy says it will continue to support MindsEye going forward and plans to work with other partners on future projects. Players can follow updates on the game through its official website.
