PlayStation is offering refunds for MindsEye, a game developed by Build A Rocket Boy, the studio founded by former Rockstar Games producer Leslie Benzies.
Unfortunately, the game has had a rocky start, with issues even before its release.
The game’s lead-up to launch was troubled, to say the least. Two of Build A Rocket Boy’s executives left the studio a week before the game’s release, creating some uncertainty. The final trailer, which was supposed to hype up the game, only fueled negative reactions after early previews didn’t impress. Adding to the controversy, the co-CEO claimed that anyone who criticized the game was being paid to do so, which didn’t help the studio’s reputation.
Before the game’s release, physical copies of MindsEye were already showing up on retail shelves, breaking the street date. Players were warned that the game on the disc wouldn’t have a significant day-one patch, leading to concerns that the patch wouldn’t be enough to fix the issues seen by those who had early copies.
Upon release, things didn’t improve. On PC, players found that the game was poorly optimized, only reaching 60 FPS at 4K with high-end machines using NVIDIA’s DLSS and Frame Generation technology. On consoles, things were even worse, with the game struggling to hit 30 FPS, despite being marketed as capable of running at 60 FPS on PS5 Pro with a Pro-Enhanced mode.
This led PlayStation to offer refunds to players who purchased the game. A player on PlayStation who pointed out that MindsEye was advertised as having 60 FPS on PS5 Pro was granted a refund. This isn’t the only case; other players have reported receiving refunds for various issues. PlayStation Support has shown some flexibility, even processing refunds for downloaded games, which is usually against their policy, in this case, as a goodwill gesture.
Despite these refunds, the developers at Build A Rocket Boy have not provided specific answers to the problems players have reported, only stating they are working on patches. At one point, they even canceled a sponsored stream, seemingly trying to avoid public criticism. While refunds are continuing to appear online, MindsEye has yet to reach the level of failure seen with Cyberpunk 2077 at its launch. However, the game’s current state doesn’t inspire much hope.
One thing is clear: MindsEye has a long road ahead if it hopes to recover from this rocky start.