MindsEye, Labeled 2025's Worst Game, Goes Free on Steam
The free weekend offers a rare chance to evaluate whether MindsEye's post-launch updates have meaningfully addressed its widely panned state, or if the game's troubled development and management saga will overshadow any technical recovery.
Reporting from 1 source: Game Spark.
Build A Rocket Boy is running a free weekend for MindsEye on Steam until July 21. The action-adventure, released in June 2025, holds the lowest Metascore of any game that year. It has faced harsh criticism, labor union accusations, CEO claims of organized sabotage, layoffs, and a canceled publishing contract. Post-launch updates have slightly improved Steam reviews. The free weekend lets players try all content.
The free weekend began July 17 and runs until 2:00 AM on July 21. The game normally costs 4,400 yen on Steam. Build A Rocket Boy, founded by a former Grand Theft Auto producer, released MindsEye in June 2025 to immediate critical failure. The Metacritic score was the lowest of any 2025 game. Reviews called it the worst game in history. After release, reports surfaced about development structure problems and labor union complaints. The CEO blamed the criticism on organized sabotage, a claim denied by publisher IO Interactive. Multiple rounds of layoffs followed. In March 2026, the publishing contract with IOI Partners ended, and Build A Rocket Boy switched to self-publishing. The studio then cut the price to 4,400 yen and released new story missions. Steam reviews have shown a slight recovery since 2026, but employee protests over a fan event in July 2026 suggest internal tensions remain high.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.