MindsEye Developer AppEars to Be Cutting Jobs Once Again
Trouble continues to brew at Build A Rocket Boy, the Edinburgh-based studio behind the ambitious action game MindsEye. According to a report by Rock Paper Shotgun, the developer appears to be making a fresh round of redundancies, with one staff member revealing on social media that he is “helping wrap things up here in the HR department” — a comment that strongly suggests the studio is once again reducing its workforce.
What We Know So Far
The staffer’s remark has fueled speculation that Build A Rocket Boy, often abbreviated as BARB, is undergoing another restructuring phase. While the studio has not officially confirmed the scale of the latest job cuts, the wording of the post implies that HR personnel are actively involved in winding down operations or managing departures behind the scenes.
A Studio Under Pressure
Build A Rocket Boy was founded by Leslie Benzies, the former president of Rockstar North and a key figure behind the Grand Theft Auto franchise. The studio poured years of work and significant investment into MindsEye, a story-driven, futuristic action title that launched in June 2025. Despite the high-profile pedigree behind it, the game suffered a difficult launch period marked by technical problems and a mixed critical reception, putting the young studio under intense scrutiny.
Games Workers Union Responds
The IWGB Games Worker Union has now issued a statement to Rock Paper Shotgun through vice-chair Ben Newbon, expressing sorrow over the situation:
“We cannot add any further insight into the heartbreaking job losses at BARB, a company that we think has been slowly spiralling for a long time. We came together to fight tooth and nail to prevent the hardworking people working there from such a fate after pouring their heart and soul into MindsEye. We are proud of what we built there but still hearing of redundancies is always an injustice.”
Unionization Efforts at the Studio
Newbon’s words highlight that workers at Build A Rocket Boy had previously organized in an effort to protect their positions, suggesting internal concerns about the company’s stability had been growing for some time. The union’s characterization of the studio as “slowly spiralling” paints a grim picture of the months leading up to these latest cuts.
The Bigger Picture for the Games Industry
This latest development fits into a broader and deeply troubling pattern across the games industry. Since 2023, tens of thousands of developers worldwide have lost their jobs in a wave of layoffs that has affected everyone from indie studios to industry giants. For a studio like Build A Rocket Boy — which bet heavily on a single major release — the commercial performance of its debut title was always going to be make-or-break.
What makes cases like this particularly painful is the human cost. Developers often spend years of their lives on ambitious projects, working crunch hours and sacrificing personal time, only to see their livelihoods threatened when a game fails to meet commercial expectations. The union’s statement underscores this injustice, praising the dedication of workers while mourning the outcome they fought to avoid.
What Comes Next for MindsEye?
Questions now swirl around the future of both the studio and MindsEye itself. Will Build A Rocket Boy continue supporting the game with patches and new content, or is the title’s live future in jeopardy? For now, neither the studio nor its leadership has publicly detailed its plans, leaving the community and affected employees in an uncomfortable state of limbo.
For players who still want to experience MindsEye or explore other titles from this turbulent era of game development, digital marketplaces like TURGAME.com offer game keys and gift cards at competitive prices — a convenient way to jump in without breaking the bank.
Our thoughts go out to everyone affected by the layoffs at Build A Rocket Boy. We will continue to monitor the story as it develops.
Source: Rock Paper Shotgun
Source: Rock Paper Shotgun