Hitman developer IO Interactive got into the publishing game with its IOI Partners program, and MindsEye–from former Rockstar developer Leslie Benzies’ Build a Rocket Boy–was the company’s first published game. The game struggled mightily out of the gate, with many criticizing its technical performance, among other things. Now, IO’s CEO, Hakan Abrak, has reacted to the launch and discussed whether or not the company will continue to publish others’ games.
Abrak told IGN that when IO was first chatting with Build a Rocket Boy, the idea was to find a way to “support them,” because IO believed in the company’s “great ideas.” IO was coming in to help Build a Rocket Boy–a brand-new game developer with no releases under its belt before MindsEye–distribute the game.
For whatever reason, MindsEye had issues, and Abrak addressed this frankly. “Well, that was definitely tough, right?” he said. “It was a tough reception. It wasn’t what they hoped for, and also what we didn’t hope for at IOI Partners.”
Abrak went on to say that Build a Rocket Boy is now “working hard on turning that around” to help regain trust. He added that he believes the team has “tons of potential.”
MindsEye just got its fourth major update this week, and it’s a big one, weighing in at as much as 15GB. It fixes bugs and makes performance improvements. A fifth major patch is coming next.
But will IO continue to publish games via its IOI Partners program? Abrak wasn’t ready to confirm anything one way or another. He said IO will publish its own games, including the upcoming James Bond game 007 First Light. But future partnerships? “That remains to be seen,” Abrak said.
007 First Light was the focus of a special PlayStation State of Play broadcast this week, during which IO announced the game’s release date, showed off new gameplay, and revealed a $300 collector’s edition featuring a replica Golden Gun.
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