Weekend Highlights (October 18-19)

Mismangement at Build a Rocket Boy, strong sales for Escape from Duckov and Absolum, and Microsoft's assurances of a new Xbox on the way — here are the key events in the gaming industry from this past weekend.

• The BBC published an investigation into the release situation of the action game MindsEye by the studio Build a Rocket Boy. Founded in 2018 by Leslie Benzies, the producer of Grand Theft Auto III, IV, and V, the studio faced a significant flop with MindsEye. This game, developed by a team of over 400 people, received low scores upon its June release, reflected by its low online player counts and Steam reviews. According to the article, the primary issue in development was Benzies himself. As a leader, he lacked a clear concept for the game, frequently introduced new features, ignored and mocked criticism, and engaged in micromanagement, even down to tasking testers.
• The single-player isometric extraction shooter featuring combat with militaristic ducks, Escape from Duckov, by Chinese studio Team Soda, has become a new Steam hit. The game sold 500,000 copies within just three days of release. The developers announced this in their Steam event feed. The game's peak online player count reached 146,000 over the weekend.
• In light of the release of ROG Xbox Ally handheld devices, Microsoft's head of gaming division Sarah Bond stated in an interview with Variety that the company is not abandoning plans for developing its own devices: “We are working on the next-generation device. We are prototyping and designing. In this regard, we plan to announce a partnership with AMD soon.”
• The innovative beat 'em up roguelike Absolum by French company Dotemu showed excellent initial numbers. Released on October 10, the project sold 200,000 copies across all platforms in its first week. The publisher considers this a significant success, particularly because Absolum marks Dotemu's first project developed from its own IP. Previously, the company had only launched games based on third-party franchises, such as Streets of Rage 4, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, Metal Slug Tactics, and others.