IO Interactive and MindsEye developer Build a Rocket Boy have officially ended their publishing partnership. As of 16 March, Build a Rocket Boy now has the sole publishing rights to MindsEye, marking the effective end of IO Interactive's first venture into third-party publishing.
The separation means a planned Hitman mission crossover announced last year will no longer be released. The Hitman mission was announced at Summer Game Fest 2025 but was later delayed amid layoffs and cleanup efforts following the game's disastrous launch.
When MindsEye released last June, it suffered a catastrophic launch with widespread technical issues and bugs, achieving the lowest Metacritic score of 2025. A memory leak affected approximately one in ten players and caused repeated crashes. The situation deteriorated to the extent that PlayStation started refunding multiple players, a step Sony rarely takes.
The separation raises questions about IO Interactive's future publishing ambitions. IOI Partners was launched in 2024 as a new venture to publish games from other developers after IO Interactive achieved full independence from Square Enix in 2017. IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak has indicated the division's survival remains uncertain. According to reporting from IGN, Abrak stated that while IO Interactive will continue publishing its own games internally, "IOI Partners? That remains to be seen."
The Hitman publisher's withdrawal comes amid ongoing turmoil at Build a Rocket Boy. In October 2025, current and former developers posted an open letter criticising studio leadership and demanding a public apology from founder Leslie Benzies and co-CEO Mark Gerhard, along with proper compensation for laid-off staff. The Chief Legal Officer and Chief Financial Officer departed the company a week before release, a significant red flag that preceded the launch catastrophe.
Earlier this month, Build a Rocket Boy announced additional layoffs, with CEO Mark Gerhard suggesting criminal activity, including espionage and sabotage, played a role in the game's downfall. Such claims, whilst rarely substantiated in the gaming industry, underline the fractious relationship between leadership and remaining staff.
Both parties have attempted to frame the separation as amicable. Both IOI Partners and Build a Rocket Boy recognised the anticipation the collaboration generated and expressed appreciation for player support. Yet the decision appears to have originated from Build a Rocket Boy's side. According to reporting from Insider Gaming, Build a Rocket Boy was the party pushing to end the ill-fated partnership, influenced by a desire to bring publishing in-house and gain more control over its future.
For players who remained hopeful about MindsEye's trajectory, the loss of a high-profile crossover with the acclaimed Hitman franchise represents another symbolic blow. Despite the recent layoffs, developers at Build a Rocket Boy are continuing to support MindsEye with updates; in February, the title received a refresh aimed at smoothing campaign flow and refining AI behaviour. Whether a struggling studio managing its own publishing can reverse public perception remains an open question.
The episode illustrates the risks inherent in a first publishing venture by an independent studio. IO Interactive may have backed the wrong project at the wrong time. For a developer like Build a Rocket Boy, losing an external publisher's resources and validation compounds existing management crises. The only certainty is that MindsEye's promised Hitman mission will never arrive.