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.”

It was easy to fall in love with [MindsEye] because there were a lot of the parts were there and we were playing it 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, Build a Rocket Boy underwent a round of layoffs in February shortly after raising $110 million, with a spokesperson saying in a statement, “While we have made great progress developing our products, we are now in a position where we need to make changes to the way we work across our business in order to become a more agile studio and to meet
the requirements that our projects demand.”

Asked about how the layoffs have impacted development, Abrak told IGN, “Honestly, we haven’t talked about that. I mean, we have had our talks with them and our due diligence and test and play-to-build, and they seem to have extremely talented people helming the different disciplines in different areas from cinematics to gameplay… some really, really heavy hitters in the industry. And I honestly actually don’t know about the layoffs and who and what, but the team that is working on it now that we’ve been talking to the last couple of months is an absolute stellar team and we are looking forward to work even closer with those people.”

Abrak is uncertain whether IO Interactive will pick up more publishing deals after MindsEye, saying that any future game needs to be “special.”

“It needs to be something that we see ourselves in, not only logically but also emotionally. So I cannot rule out that we don’t do something else. It’s very likely or possible that we can do another publishing deal with a different partner, but I wouldn’t be able to say, we have to release these amount of games and whatnot. That’s not how we think. It’s not that corporate thinking we have. So it’s something that if it feels really right, then it’s likely or it’s possible that we might partner with other people in the future,” he says.

While MindsEye doesn’t have a release date yet, it sounds like we’ll be learning more soon. In the meantime, check out our first hands-on preview with Everywhere from 2023.

Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.