"There Has Been a Coordinated Campaign to Purposefully and…

A new report claims that Build A Rocket Boy co-CEO Mark Gerhard has allegedly found those involved in a coordinated campaign to sabotage the studio's reputation and its first game, MindsEye. The studio launched MindsEye for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC in June 2025, but Build A Rocket Boy's new action-adventure title was met with largely negative reviews by both fans and critics. One of the company's two CEOs has now reportedly claimed that this was due to a coordinated attack on the company from both internal and external sources.

With a former Grand Theft Auto producer at the helm, the hype around MindsEye was sky high. Unfortunately, the action-adventure game, which stars Mafia 3's Alex Hernandez as Jacob Diaz, received such a poor reception from critics and players that it became one of the worst-reviewed games of 2025. Technical issues, poor optimization, and an overall lackluster experience even led PlayStation to issue refunds for MindsEye, something the company very rarely does. The last time Sony offered players refunds for a game, no questions asked, was for the disastrous launch of Cyberpunk 2077 in 2020. While CD Projekt Red managed to turn the title around into one of the best RPGs of all time, it's looking doubtful that Build A Rocket Boy will be able to pull off a similar feat with MindsEye.

This 2025 Failure Proves You Shouldn't Try and Compete with Grand Theft Auto

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By Anthony Taormina

MindsEye CEO Reportedly Claims to Have Found Supposed Saboteurs

Back in May 2025, one month before the game's release, Build A Rocket Boy co-CEO Mark Gerhard publicly stated that there was a paid effort against the studio and MindsEye. Now he has allegedly doubled down on these accusations and reportedly identified those involved. According to a new report from Insider Gaming, which was reportedly sent a video of an internal meeting between Build A Rocket Boy employees and Gerhard, the co-CEO apparently claims to have "caught the guys" responsible for sabotaging MindsEye.

The report goes on to say that Gerhard claims it was a "very big American company" behind the €1 million smear campaign and that it was orchestrated by a UK-based company known as Ritual Network. During the alleged meeting, he apparently states that Ritual Network had paid several influencers, three journalists, and Build A Rocket Boy employees to tarnish the reputation of the studio and its first game, MindsEye. When approached for comment by Insider Gaming, a representative for Ritual Network said it "is not involved in the matter" and "not aware of any legitimate legal action."

Gerhard supposedly even tells fellow Build A Rocket Boy employees that all the individuals involved will face criminal complaints and charges for "espionage, sabotage, and criminal interference." However, the CEO seems to want to have his own fun with the situation, as he apparently says he will "own this narrative" and wants to include the names and facts in a new MindsEye spy mission. Insider Gaming previously claimed that a planned Hitman crossover with MindsEye would now be repurposed into the aforementioned spy mission following Build A Rocket Boy and IO Interactive's separation.

The alleged meeting also apparently involves Gerhard discussing a new cybersecurity software that was installed on employees' computers without their knowledge. The CEO apparently took "full responsibility" for the poor communication, but said the next 90 days are "absolutely critical" for the business.

It's claimed that the meeting ended with Gerhard calling February 4 a "defining chapter" for the game, as a brand-new MindsEye update was released across all platforms. According to the official patch notes, the update introduced a "brand refresh" and further improvements in overall polish, guided by player and community feedback. While overall reviews are still "mixed" on Steam, its recent review rating is "very positive," with 81% of the 65 user reviews in the last 30 days being positive.

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