Rumors had been circulating for a while that one of 2025’s biggest flops had driven a wedge between the two sides, but the official confirmation only arrived now. IOI Partners is stepping away from MindsEye, and Build A Rocket Boy will take over publishing duties in full.

“IOI Partners’ involvement with MindsEye has ended, except for any essential transitional functions required to transfer publisher-of-record status to Build A Rocket Boy. Build A Rocket Boy will assume sole publishing responsibilities going forward, ensuring continuity for the MindsEye community and all partners. IOI Partners and BARB are coordinating closely to ensure a seamless transition over the coming weeks.

In light of this separation, the Hitman mission announced in June 2025, planned as a crossover event within MindsEye, will no longer be released. However, BARB plans on working with partners on other projects in the future. Both IOI Partners and Build A Rocket Boy recognize the anticipation this collaboration generated among the community and express their appreciation for the support shown by the players.”

That statement turns what had long sounded like industry gossip into something official. There had already been signs that Build A Rocket Boy would not be bringing Agent 47 into the game after all, and there had also been talk of a different mission centered on figures tied to the smear campaign surrounding the project. Now there is no room for interpretation: the Hitman crossover is dead, and IOI is clearly in the middle of scrubbing its name off the entire affair.

The embarrassment is hard to ignore. MindsEye was supposed to carry some weight simply because of Leslie Benzies, the former Grand Theft Auto producer behind it, but instead it crashed headfirst into the wall and ended up being remembered as one of 2025’s biggest disasters. Seen from that angle, it is not hard to understand why IO Interactive wants distance. In fact, there is a very real chance that MindsEye will stand as the only game ever released under the IOI Partners publishing label, which is hardly the kind of legacy anyone would want to frame on the wall.

From here on out, MindsEye will continue as a self-published Build A Rocket Boy title, though the larger question is how much of a future the game truly has left. Reports have already suggested that the studio is operating in a near-lifeless state, and BARB itself has said that updates will become less frequent. In other words, the game is technically still around, but it is increasingly difficult to believe in any kind of meaningful comeback. IO Interactive waited surprisingly long before formally walking away, but from this point forward it will have nothing to do with MindsEye. Frankly, it is not hard to see why the company would rather get as far away from this mess as possible.

Source: Gematsu