The big MindsEye update brought about 12 people back into the game

Developer MindsEye Build and Rocket Boy are desperate for a redemption arc. When the game launched, it was clear that the studio had over-promised and under-delivered. It was condemned as a “technical disaster”, earning a “Mostly Negative” review on Steam and forcing PlayStation to issue a refund.

The development team blamed MindsEye's woes on both internal and external “saboteurs”, but that won no sympathy and couldn't stop the game from bleeding players, or unfortunately studio staff.

Yesterday, Build a Rocket Boy announced something of a “reset” for MindsEye, but unfortunately even that didn't generate interest as its concurrent player count only jumped by 15.

“Reset” MindsEye does not lure players back into the game

Main character from MindsEye. The image is a close-up under orange light.

Build and Rocket Boy CEO Mark Gerhard called yesterday's update “a big step forward for MindsEye and our studio.” He promised, “We've listened, we've moved quickly, and we're continuing to improve performance, make constant improvements, and bring substantial improvements to combat and gameplay.”

This update added new races, but only for those who purchased the Deluxe Edition, and made changes to missions, mainly to make them “fairer”, along with sound, UI/UX, art, and visuals. However, this did nothing to bring the player back.

According to data from SteamDB, after the new update, MindsEye's maximum number of concurrent players increased by 12. On February 4, the game peaked at 21 players. It peaked at 33 on February 5.

The average number of players did not fare any better either. On February 4, it was an average of 20 players; On February 5th it averaged 24. Not quite the reset you have to imagine Build a Rocket Boy was hoping for.

Somehow the free version of MindsEye is even less popular than the paid version

Few people were tempted to try MindsEye even though it was given to them for free.

Over the past few days, MindsEye's reputation has suffered further serious damage. Its director Leslie Benzies, known for his role in shaping the Grand Theft Auto games, was mentioned in Epstein's files. Although being mentioned in the files is not an indication of wrongdoing, the documents contained a number of allegations accusing Benzies of sexually assaulting Sarah Ransome. This is something Benzies denies. Despite his denials, the YouTuber was banned for making a video about Benzies mentioning the file in progress.