MindsEye began development as one component of "Everywhere", a planned online platform built around user-created content, that was meant to be the flagship product of developer Build a Rocket Boy. Studio leadership hoped the game would serve as a showcase for the technology and ideas behind Everywhere, but after a closed alpha test showed little interest, development transitioned into making MindsEye a standalone game.

However, the transition exposed deeper organizational problems with studio founder and Rockstar Games alumni Leslie Benzies, who allegedly altered the direction of both projects by suddenly introducing new features and redesigning existing systems without full consideration. Former employees jokingly referred to these frequent changes as "Leslies" internally, and reported that he had an inflexible management structure in which criticism was often ignored or dismissed. By early 2025, with the game's June release date imminent, the studio entered an extended period of mandatory overtime, pressuring and dispiriting employees who reportedly suspected that the launch would be troubled as there would be no pre-release review copies, and because their chief legal officer and chief financial officer both resigned.

In response to criticism directed at trailers and demonstrations, Benzies publicly claimed that unspecified outside groups were deliberately trying to damage the game's reputation, which many interpreted as indirect references to his former colleagues at Rockstar. When MindsEye finally launched, it was praised for its graphics, but overwhelmingly criticized for its rampant bugs, artificial intelligence, mission design, and underused open-world setting. Rounds of layoffs followed as the company struggled to recover financially while continuing to support the game, despite many reviewers concluding that the game had fundamental design flaws extending far beyond bugs.

Co-CEO Mark Gerhard maintained Benzie's claims and promised that future DLC would reveal the malicious actors responsible. That DLC was originally envisioned as a crossover with the Hitman series, but those plans reportedly collapsed after IO Interactive ended its association with Build a Rocket Boy. In April 2026, the expansion was released as "MindsEye Blacklisted", and although it did not directly accuse former employees of sabotage, its storyline strongly echoed the leadership team's belief that the company had been betrayed from within, including references to organizations such as the management agency Ritual Network.