Another round of layoffs is seemingly sweeping through Build A Rocket Boy, the studio responsible for MindsEye and founded by GTA veteran Leslie Benzies. The studio’s future is now uncertain.
Reported on by IGN, more staff working at Build A Rocket Boy have said they’ve been let go. Head of audio Stuart Ross, level designer Liam Shannon, release manager Michaela Emslie, lead QA analyst Sandy Greig, QA analyst Elizabet Tyaneva, production QA analyst Cameron Deaves, and many more recently announced their time at the studio is coming to a close.
This certainly isn’t the first time Build A Rocket Boy has cut jobs following the messy launch (and even more messy aftermath) of MindsEye. Last year, the company made an unknown number of staff redundant. In May, the studio reportedly laid off a further 170 workers. Remaining staff also staged a protest this summer against Build A Rocket Boy’s “all expenses paid” fan event.
These most recent layoffs also call into question the future of the entire company. Kotaku reports that sources close to the studio claim Build A Rocket Boy is permanently shutting down.
Adding fuel to the fire, in a recent LinkedIn post, principal talent acquisition officer Dan Hawkins said he’s looking for new work “along with the rest of my colleagues at Build A Rocket Boy,” and he’s now “seeing BARB through till the very end, helping wrap things up here in the HR department.”
MindsEye itself hasn’t been able to turn around a turbulent first year. The game was initially promised to be part of Everything, a make-your-own-game type of Roblox-y experience, before the scale was pulled back considerably.
Eurogamer’s one-star review said MindsEye was “sunk by a ridiculous story, inconsistent writing, poorly designed mission scenarios, and utterly atrocious combat.” A myriad of tech issues certainly didn’t help its case. From there, executives from the studio held firm that MindsEye suffered at the hands of unnamed saboteurs.
I’ve asked Build A Rocket Boy for comment and will update this story if I hear anything back, of course.
