80%
Probable
MindsEye developer Build a Rocket Boy has ended its publishing deal with Hitman and 007: First Light developer IO Interactive, according to a report from Insider-Gaming. MindsEye was the first game that IO Interactive published under its new publishing label, and it might just be its last, if reports from last year, and now this, are to be believed.
That said, according to the report, the decision to end the deal came from Build a Rocket Boy's side, not IO Interactive. This is said to come from Build a Rocket Boy wanting to start publishing its games internally and ultimately have more control over its future. This also reportedly means that the previously planned MindsEye and Hitman collaboration has been cancelled.
Now that 2025 is in the books, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has more GOTY awards than any other game before it, if you were wondering what's at the opposite end of the spectrum, that would be MindsEye, at least according to Metacritic. Only earning a 37, it was the worst-reviewed game of 2025, after it had a disastrous launch.
To say it was an extremely bug-plagued game at launch would be an understatement. It was bad enough that PlayStation gave players refunds because the game was so broken. And when it was working, critics and players hammered the lack of anything to do and its less-than-enticing story.
It was a bad situation for Build a Rocket Boy. The game didn't have the worst sales launch, all things considered, but the word-of-mouth and the barrage of memes and clips of the game's worst moments killed any momentum the team at Build a Rocket Boy could have had. The studio suffered layoffs, and developers called out the studio leadership, which included former Rockstar producer Leslie Benzies, in a damning open letter.
An even more damning report from the BBC a week later revealed more about the internal issues at Build a Rocket Boy, and while the studio has tried to update and fix the game, it feels more likely that it will run out of financial runway and get shut down before it has a chance to see its full vision for MindsEye realized.
Considering all of this, it's interesting that the report indicates the decision to cut ties came from Build a Rocket Boy's side, and not IO Interactive. Maybe this is because Build a Rocket Boy has a comeback plan it wants full autonomy over. We'll see if that's the case, though it's worth noting that so far, neither Build a Rocket Boy or IO Interactive have officially confirmed or denied this report.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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