“The initial talks we had with those guys were to support them”, Hakan Abrak, CEO of IOI, told IGN. “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.”
At some point along the road, though, the development of MindsEye clearly did not go exactly to plan, and ultimately ended in that negativity-laced launch. For IOI Partners, it obviously isn’t what it wanted to see happen after attaching itself to the Leslie Benzies-helmed project.
“Well, that was definitely tough, right?”, Abrak confirmed. “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.”
The future of MindsEye and Build a Rocket Boy remains uncertain. But what about IOI Partners and its appetite to publish more games not made inside the Danish studio’s walls? IOI Interactive will self-publish the upcoming James Bond adventure 007 First Light, but can we expect more partnerships along the lines of the one made with MindsEye, or has this launch left a bad taste in the mouth?
“So, IO Interactive will publish our own games internally,” Abrak confirmed. “IOI Partners? That remains to be seen.”
