In an alternate dimension, MindsEye might have been the GTA-killer that Leslie Benzies once hoped for. But in reality, the situation turned out very differently, and the game now looks destined to be remembered as one of the greatest fiascos in modern gaming history, losing all its shine in record time.
The game was heavily hyped before launch, and when IO Interactive stepped in as publisher, expectations soared. MindsEye was marketed as a grand open-world adventure with the ambition to challenge Rockstar on its home turf. And with Benzies at the helm, what could possibly go wrong?
The answer: apparently everything. At launch, players were met with a cascade of bugs, crashes, and a broken experience that left many in despair. Review scores reflected the disaster, and reactions from gamers worldwide were merciless. The fiasco shook IO's confidence, and in an interview with IGN, studio boss Hakan Abrak commented:
"We thought they had some great ideas and a great world in the background that they were building, and hopefully they'll get the opportunity to show more of that in the future. And we just wanted to help them distribute the game."
"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."
Abrak confirmed that IO will continue to publish its own games internally but was less certain about the future of IO Partners, a label originally meant to support external studios. For now, it seems MindsEye might be both the first and last title under that banner.
Still, Abrak insisted that the team is working hard to rebuild trust and that new content is on the way. As of writing, however, MindsEye counts just 14 active players on Steam. Nice work, Leslie.