MindsEye had a very rough launch. As the first game from another company published by IO Interactive under their Partners program, things did not go well. The game did not sell much, received mostly negative reviews on Steam, and the developer Build a Rocket Boy had to lay off staff.
To make matters even more confusing, the company's leaders made some unusual remarks. Leslie Benzies, who worked on Grand Theft Auto in the past, blamed the game's problems on people trying to sabotage it from both inside and outside the company. Another leader, Mark Gerhard, said that people were paid to post bad reviews about the game before it even came out. These claims made the whole situation even more dramatic.
The difficult launch has made IO Interactive more cautious. Their CEO, Hakan Abrak, said in a recent interview that the response to MindsEye was tough and not at all what anyone wanted. He explained that both IOI and the developers are working hard to fix things and win back the trust of players. He believes the developer still has potential and new ideas, and hopes they will succeed in the future.
But when asked if IO Interactive would keep publishing games from other studios, Abrak was unsure. He said IO Interactive will focus on releasing their own games for now, and about working as a publisher for others, he said it is uncertain.
Some game critics found MindsEye very disappointing, saying that the characters are boring and the story is not original. With IO Interactive putting energy into their own projects, like their upcoming James Bond game 007 First Light, it seems likely they will be careful about publishing other studios' games for now.
Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/mindseyes-messy-launch-shenanigans-has-io-interactive-hesitant-to-play-publisher-for-more-games-in-the-future-that-remains-to-be-seen/
