Hitman Dev IO Interactive Teaming With Ex-GTA Producer's Studio to Publish MindsEye

ign.com:

IO Interactive is teaming up with Build a Rocket Boy, the studio founded by former GTA producer Leslie Benzies, to publish MindsEye — his upcoming AAA action-adventure game billed as a proof of concept for the studio's Everywhere platform.

IO Interactive, which is best-known for the Hitman series and is currently working on a James Bond game, will handle the distribution and marketing for MindsEye. IO Interactive Hakan Abrak says that Mindseye is "pretty far" along in development, and that the studio is currently working on plans to communicate a release date.

"It was easy to fall in love with [MindsEye] because there were a lot of the parts were there and we were playing it. So they're still polishing and building things, but it's going to be a great game," Abrak tells IGN.

MindsEye was first announced in February 2023 as a proof-of-concept for Everywhere, an Unreal Engine 5 MMO that Benzies touts as a game creation system. This is MindsEye's official description: "MindsEye is a story-driven, action-adventure thriller, set in a fictional near future Americana. Featuring best-in-class cinematics, high octane driving, and explosive combat from legendary game director, Leslie Benzies. Play as Jacob Diaz, a former soldier with a mysterious neural implant who is suffering from memory loss and flashbacks."

Everywhere is conspicuously absent from the official publishing announcement, but Abrak says that it's still being made on "the same technology, in the same engine."

"The publishing deal we have is on MindsEye," Abrak says. "They are still working on the Everywhere product, but that's something that is with Build a Rocket Boy. So there will be more communication about the synergies and connections to that. But our deal and our publishing deal collaboration is on MindsEye, which is a full AAA universe in itself."

Abrak says that Benzies' studio approached IO Interactive with the publishing deal, and that the "first talks were very sympathetic and very aligned." Notably,