The futuristic third person action game in the same vein as GTA, Mindseye, is getting an update soon. After all this time and controversy, it’s surprising that the title is still getting new content, especially considering the fact that its concurrent player count has hovered in the dozens only month after its release last year. However, it seems like this upcoming update, which will include a brand new mission, may have an agenda that extends beyond Mindseye’s story. In a recent interview with Gamesbeat, according to Mark Gerhard, the CEO of developer Build A Rocket Boy, “We’re using that [the mission] to share some of the evidence of the sabotage with the community.” The alleged sabotage Gerhard speaks of relates to his assertions last year that the poor critical reception the game received was due to a “concerted effort” to tarnish the reputation of the studio.
Gerhard has claimed that along with the apparent insight that the new Blacklist mission will provide into the alleged “sabotage,” authorities in both the United States and the U.K. have been involved in “investigations.” Build a Rocket Boy has so far launched allegations of “espionage” against the influencer management and media company Ritual Network, a content creator named Cyberboi, and several journalists, according to Tom Henderson at Insider Gaming. Gerhard also stated that the studio would be using the identities of those who he’s accused in the upcoming mission before “…it plays out in court.” Aside from the potentially legally dubious new mission, Gerhard has claimed that the studio is moving forward with developing more user generated content tools for players to make their own fun with–though there might not even be a large enough community to even sustain that long-term.
All of this comes with the context of the intense scrutiny Mindseye has been under for the past year. There have been continuous rounds of layoffs extending before the game’s lifetime, the studio’s publisher IOI Interactive parted ways and cancelled crossover event, the IWGB union alleged the studio’s mistreatment of employees, Sony issued refunds to basically anyone who asked for them, and the game launched to very unfavorable reviews from critics and fans alike on Steam, Metacritic, and many publications.