Can Build A Rocket Boy save itself?

The most recent twist within the MindsEye story got here final week when employees on the Edinburgh-based studio found that the corporate had put in surveillance software program on their PCs with out their information.

In accordance with Slack messages seen by GamesIndustry.biz, staff on the studio found that administration had put in monitoring software program referred to as Teramind on their machines with out their information or consent. This was solely found after employees seen in January that their {hardware} was slower than ordinary, impacting the efficiency of software program important to recreation growth, similar to Maya.

Build A Rocket Boy (BARB) administration solely admitted to putting in this software program after the actual fact and requested employees to signal an up to date IT privateness coverage.

Chatting with GamesIndustry.biz, Patrick Rennie, a associate at Wiggin and head of the legislation agency’s knowledge safety staff, mentioned that whereas employers are “typically” allowed to observe their employees, they have to adhere to sure tips: “They should adjust to knowledge safety, together with that monitoring is affordable, proportionate and clear.”

In an impromptu all-hands video name within the final week of January, seen by GamesIndustry.biz and likewise reported by Insider Gaming, co-CEO Mark Gerhard described Teramind as “enhanced cybersecurity software program”. He mentioned that whereas administration trusts most of its employees, “it is the 1% that’s the downside”, echoing earlier comments from co-CEO Leslie Benzies about “saboteurs” inside the company. Gerhard mentioned that BARB hoped to take away the tech “inside three months”, with the caveat that this was “straight linked to MindsEye’s success”.

On the identical name, Gerhard claimed, with out proof, that “a really massive American firm” had spent over €1 million in 2025, “committing felony exercise towards BARB”.

This, he claimed, took the type of paying UK influencer company Ritual Community, in addition to three unnamed journalists and a few BARB staff, to wreck the corporate. All of those events, Gerhard mentioned, had been set to obtain in-person felony complaints “shortly”.

Gerhard previously claimed there was a “concerted effort” to attack the studio before the game’s release, after pre-release criticism of the sport’s technical efficiency which he claimed was financed by unnamed events.

One of many YouTubers Ritual represents is a outstanding nameless persona who has performed in-depth reporting on BARB and MindsEye, together with interviews with studio employees. When the YouTuber requested Gerhard about potential authorized motion within the recreation’s Discord server, the manager despatched a message that “serves as a proper stop and desist” demanding that they “cease all actions” associated to publishing details about BARB.

This put up additionally featured the nameless influencer’s actual identify. These messages have since been deleted by server moderators.

In an announcement to GamesIndustry.biz, Ritual Community firmly denied the accusations levelled towards it by Gerhard and mentioned that it was not concerned in any authorized motion.

“Ritual Community is a creator assist platform and isn’t concerned within the matter you referenced,” the corporate mentioned. “We aren’t conscious of any authentic authorized motion involving Ritual Community and haven’t been supplied with any proof supporting these claims. Any suggestion that Ritual Community is linked to those allegations is wrong.”

In an electronic mail following the all-hands, Gerhard advised employees that co-CEO Leslie Benzies, who not too long ago denied allegations of sexual assault after being named by an unidentified particular person within the recently-released Epstein information, was on “a well-earned short-term go away to recharge after greater than a 12 months of working across the clock”.

Gerhard continued: “He has our deepest gratitude, and with the management staff and your assist, I’ll information us ahead” earlier than signing off as CEO.

A week later, the corporate put out a press launch for a significant MindsEye patch that launched on February 4, describing it as “a brand new part of ongoing growth”. Gerhard advised employees within the January all-hands assembly that it was “going to be our defining chapter”. On the time of writing, 28 individuals are taking part in the sport on Steam, and the title has a peak CCU of 65 individuals for the final 24 hours, per SteamDB data.

GamesIndustry.biz has approached BARB for remark.

Eye of the storm

Gerhard’s current claims are the most recent twist within the lengthy and troubled growth of MindsEye, which first got here to a head when the sport launched in June of 2025. Because the date approached, there was a contrasting temper throughout the studio. Many employees had been burnt out and disillusioned after working lengthy hours to get the sport prepared for launch, understanding that it wasn’t prepared for launch, whereas administration was wildly optimistic.

Former staff describe an environment of “poisonous positivity” from the highest brass. Workers had been advised that the title was set to obtain a optimistic reception. One former employee thought that the sport would handle 5 or 6 out of ten “at greatest.”

Then, two members of the administration staff stop every week earlier than the sport launched. The launch itself was a catastrophe. Reviewers and customers savaged the sport. There have been myriad technical points. The participant rely on Steam plummeted.

“Following launch, I largely noticed confusion; most individuals had been anticipating a greater reception,” one former employee mentioned. “As time handed, actuality sank in: MindsEye had flopped, and other people began coming to phrases with the truth that the sport they spent years working so exhausting on had fallen fully flat.”

One other ex-member of employees added: “Truthfully, I’ve by no means seen hope dashed like that.”

“Leslie did not appear to take any blame for the sport’s launch. It was genuinely offensive that he did not belief his personal staff”

Former BARB worker

Two weeks later, on the finish of June, the studio introduced important redundancies. On July 2, there was an inside name to debate them with employees. This name, which leaked to the press and has been seen by GamesIndustry.biz, featured remarks by Benzies relating to saboteurs each inside and out of doors the studio attempting to wreck MindsEye. This echoed similar comments from Gerhard forward of MindsEye’s launch, the place the exec alluded to a “concerted effort” to “trash the sport and the studio”.

“I would hoped for extra of an evidence in regards to the layoffs and our firm scenario,” a former staffer mentioned. “However as an alternative, we might been advised there have been saboteurs inside and out of doors the corporate attempting to take us down. Leslie did not appear to take any blame for the sport’s launch. It was genuinely offensive that he did not belief his personal staff. The concept that we might sabotage a recreation we might spent numerous hours engaged on was simply impolite to me.”

Rockstar issues

In accordance with employees, issues on the studio began properly earlier than the sport’s launch. When the corporate was based, its focus was In every single place, an MMO open-world constructing instrument, internally described as “grown-up Roblox.” The imaginative and prescient drew important funding from VC corporations and NetEase, however employees say that this by no means actually obtained off the bottom.

The expectation was that Benzies’ identify and recognition from his time at Rockstar would drive buzz and assist entice neighborhood, however a splashy reveal at Gamescom in 2022 drew a comparatively muted response, and the studio struggled to get gamers inquisitive about In every single place. A beta model launched, however struggled to retain gamers regardless of efforts to usher in creators with followings on related platforms like Minecraft, Roblox and The Sims.

“Retention was terrible,” mentioned one worker. “There was little or no to do. They ended up with this rooster and egg scenario the place nobody was taking part in as a result of there was nothing to do, and nobody was creating something as a result of there was nobody taking part in.”

The corporate’s focus shifted virtually totally to MindsEye, a undertaking that originally was set to advertise In every single place. BARB sought out a publishing associate for MindsEye, in the end securing a take care of Hitman maker IO Interactive.

Many employees attribute accountability for BARB’s present predicament and the state of MindsEye when it launched to Leslie Benzies. Though the Rockstar veteran was very profitable in attracting funding for the studio on the again of his earlier monitor file – together with a $110 million money injection firstly of 2024 – employees say that he struggled to delegate accountability and appeared to lack readability within the imaginative and prescient for the sport.

Throughout the last months of MindsEye’s growth, builders had been repeatedly being requested to place in new options that had caught Benzies’ consideration. There was even a class of activity in BARB’s Jira for Leslie Benzies’ concepts; these all the time needed to take precedence, no matter how workable they had been.

“If administration had targeting tightening the whole lot up at that time, then it might have labored, however as an alternative they stored on attempting to throw additional stuff on it,” mentioned former lead knowledge analyst Ben Newbon.

“Leslie’s eye can be caught by one thing particularly after which insist this additional function be added in, even like a month earlier than launch. There wasn’t sufficient time to check these issues and to get all of the items in place to really make it work with out it breaking.”

Different employees spoke of micromanagement and a high-court mentality, supported by an “entourage” who didn’t want to lose Benzies’ favour by contradicting him. “They crushed their very own expertise below the yoke of appeasing a single particular person on the very prime,” mentioned one.

One other believes that Benzies might have had successful on his fingers, had he solely been ready to take heed to his employees.

“He could have had a profitable formulation if he’d have listened to the recommendation from the literal a whole lot of unbelievable, insanely proficient, and hard-working trade professionals they spent a lot money and time hiring,” they mentioned. “We had so many elementary adjustments to the sport that it will’ve been inconceivable to make a very good recreation within the time we had.”

Reaching for a reset

The place BARB goes from right here is unclear. IWGB Sport Employees is at present taking authorized motion towards the studio over the mishandling of the redundancy course of, and the union has printed an open letter to BARB’s management signed by 93 present and former staff.

The most recent replace for MindsEye was introduced as a part of a “reset” that the agency is hoping will flip the sport into successful. Former employees declare that BARB’s administration is hoping that MindsEye undergoes a redemption arc much like Cyberpunk 2077 or No Man’s Sky, each of which additionally struggled at launch however recovered after diligent patching resolved their technical issues. The studio is concentrated on delivering updates, however former employees are fatalistic about its prospects, mentioning that it by no means achieved a comparable degree of pre-launch hype.

“They do not know how one can run a enterprise. They do not know how one can run a recreation studio”

Ben Newbon

“Even when they’d the very best management on this planet, there is no method to carry this again,” Newbon advised GamesIndustry.biz within the aftermath of the launch. “Even when they repair the entire bugs and technical points, it is nonetheless an especially boring recreation. Management don’t hear. Plus, they’ve culled over half the studio. They do not know how one can run a enterprise. They do not know how one can run a recreation studio.”

A former staffer concluded: “I do not assume BARB survives this disaster. I imagine the top is coming for BARB, and it isn’t heralded by saboteurs, however by Mark and Leslie themselves.”