New MindsEye Layoffs Could Mean The Studio is Shutting Down

Just over one year ago, Build a Rocket Boy released MindsEye, an ambitious but somewhat bizarre third-person shooter that proved to be something of a catalyst. It drove immense negativity online, gave rise to damning legal accusations and claims of sabotage, and performed so badly in a commercial sense that it inspired multiple waves of layoffs at the firm.

Now, another sweep of redundancies has hit Build a Rocket Boy, the studio founded by Leslie Benzies, of former Rockstar North fame. This time, it looks like things are irreparable, as some dismissed employees have taken to social media with a tone of finality in their messages.

Is Build a Rocket Boy Finished?

A few months ago, I decided to see what all the fuss was about with MindsEye, dropping a post-launch review that landed ahead of a mysterious update that was said to reference a real-world legal web that BARB found itself embroiled in.

Funnily enough, I enjoyed MindsEye, for what it’s worth. It wouldn’t ever have won awards, but as a game, I found it perfectly acceptable.

RELATED: I Played MindsEye, And It’s Not That Bad

Unfortunately, the ongoing and resounding lack of success and interest in MindsEye, and the game’s wider, envisioned UGC-backed ecosystem, has meant that BARB has stood at a precipice for several months.

In a post on social media, former BARB HR employee Dan Hawkins wrote:

With a very heavy heart I raised my green banner, along with the rest of my colleagues at Build a Rocket Boy.

I will be seeing BARB through until the very end, helping to wrap things up here in the HR department.

Hawkins’ statement was flipped a little by Michaela Emslie, another BARB developer, whose message suggested it’s not everyone who is impacted:

I’ve unfortunately been given my redundancy notice along with some of my fellow colleagues.

It has been a whirlwind year for Build a Rocket Boy, and not in a good way. The studio was forced to part ways with IO Interactive, its publishing partner; it faced allegations of secretive employee monitoring tactics, and it stared down a million-dollar legal case against ‘saboteurs’ trying to see the company finished.

We’ve reached out to Build a Rocket Boy’s representatives for more information and clarity on this story.

Let us know on the Insider Gaming Discord server if you fully expect BARB to go under.

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