MindsEye, the ambitious new title from Build A Rocket Boy led by ex-Rockstar North chief Leslie Benzies, has had a rocky start since its June 10 launch.
Despite reaching a peak of 3,302 concurrent players on Steam, the game currently holds a ‘mixed’ user review score, largely due to persistent performance issues and a variety of bugs reported by PC gamers.
The developer has acknowledged these concerns, assuring fans on the MindsEye subreddit that their engineering team is “working around the clock” to improve performance. Patch 3 is already in the works, indicating rapid response but also highlighting the unfinished state at release.
Pre-launch, Build A Rocket Boy urged players to wait for the official release to experience the game fairly, without influence from early, potentially biased impressions. This statement was linked to co-CEO Mark Gerhard’s earlier claims of a “concerted effort” by paid accounts or bots to discredit the game online-an assertion met with skepticism by IO Interactive’s head, who emphasized letting the game speak for itself on launch day.
The launch also came amid internal turmoil, with the studio’s Chief Legal Officer and Chief Financial Officer departing just days before release, adding to community unease.
Priced at $59.99, MindsEye offers a tightly crafted linear story campaign alongside a “single-player free roam” mode. Players can also dive into various missions including a horde mode, combat challenges, and multiple races. The premium pass expands content further with exclusive missions and cosmetic packs.
Looking ahead, Build A Rocket Boy promises a steady stream of monthly premium content-new missions, challenges, and community-created assets-aiming to keep MindsEye fresh and engaging for years to come. The 2025 roadmap details community updates and new missions in summer, additional single-player modes and multiplayer in fall, and further free roam expansions in winter.
Despite these plans, many players are frustrated. Performance woes, lack of a true open world, and mission design reminiscent of older console-era games have dampened enthusiasm. Some feel the game resembles a rushed product that could have benefited from a delay to polish and fully realize its potential.