By “The opening was brutal…”
- written Ben Kerry
Recall MindsEye? Granted, the GTA-alike debuted only in June, yet many gamers have already purged it from their brains — and from the sound of things publisher IO Interactive wishes it could do the same.
In a chat with IGN, studio head Hakan Abrak addressed his company’s maiden effort at publishing someone else’s game, beyond its own franchises like Hitman. Though the new publishing side “simply intended to aid the MindsEye team in getting the title out there,” he concedes “the feedback stung” — so badly, in fact, that the outfit is re-evaluating any future collaborations.
“It landed poorly. That ran counter both to their expectations and, frankly, to ours at IOI Partners. They’re hustling hard to claw back player goodwill—there’s bags of potential, plus content in the pipeline—so with luck they’ll pull it off down the road.
IO Interactive will keep releasing our in-house projects […] As for IOI Partners? The jury’s still out.”
Just to refresh your memory, Pure Xbox bucked the trend when we shared our hands-on verdict at release. We freely acknowledged the narrative and technical flaws—nevertheless, we relished the moment-to-moment action and we’ll defend that stance indefinitely. Rest assured, we do want MindsEye to stage a comeback and would welcome IO giving publishing-for-others another spin.
Meanwhile, IO’s internal roadmap? You might have spotted our latest article on 007 First Light. The next Bond adventure already looks sensational, so the studio clearly has its own slate firmly in hand. Whether IOI Partners ever resurfaces remains a waiting game.
How do you interpret IO’s remarks on MindsEye? Share your thoughts below.
[via ign.com]
Ben serves as a News Writer at Pure Xbox and is partial to action, racing, and unapologetic shoot-a-thons in whatever Xbox game he can clutch. When he isn’t gripping an Xbox pad like life support, you’ll catch him spinning tunes far too ancient for him, watching football on the screen, and presumably hoovering up food somewhere.