A number of builders of the disastrous MindsEye have stated they’ve been laid off, casting doubt over the way forward for its controversial developer, Build A Rocket Boy.
Story-driven motion journey sport MindsEye was initially designed to be a a part of In every single place, the ‘Roblox for adults’ creation platform led by former Grand Theft Auto design chief Leslie Benzies. BARB ultimately switched to give attention to MindsEye, with the corporate ballooning in measurement to over 500 employees at peak.
However MindsEye flopped exhausting when it got here out in June 2025, with gamers calling it “damaged,” “buggy,” and “the worst sport of 2025.” Quickly after, BARB stated it was “heartbroken” over the problems gamers had confronted with the sport, and promised to launch a sequence of patches to repair the numerous efficiency issues, glitches, and AI conduct bugs. Benzies instructed employees that the studio would bounce again and relaunch MindsEye, blaming its struggles on inner and exterior “saboteurs,” amongst different issues. CEO Mark Gerhard stated the studio had been investigating what he known as “prison exercise” that befell across the launch of the sport.
In July final 12 months, IGN reported that the Scottish studio had issued at-risk of redundancy emails to its then round 300-strong UK workforce. Subsequent rounds of layoffs adopted, and this summer season, fired employees protested exterior the studio over an “all-expenses-paid playtest day.”
BARB tried to relaunch MindsEye with what was known as the “Blacklisted” replace, however it failed to maneuver the needle. Subsequent updates and a last-ditch 50% off Steam sale have equally fallen on deaf ears. Whereas console participant numbers are unavailable, MindsEye had a 24-hour peak Steam concurrent participant rely of simply 16.
The extent of the layoffs is unclear at this stage, with one supply conversant in the studio telling IGN that the corporate will not be dissolved even when all employees are let go. Both manner, there are actually severe questions over the way forward for the studio and MindsEye itself. IGN has requested BARB for remark.
Benzies was a essential member of the Grand Theft Auto growth workforce at Rockstar, and is taken into account one of many key architects of its huge success. He left in 2016 amid a authorized row over unpaid royalties that was ultimately settled out of court docket. With the GTA hyperlink in place, BARB attracted greater than £233 million ($313 million) of funding by 2024. Hitman developer IO Interactive snapped up publishing rights.
BARB’s newest monetary statements, made as much as September 30, 2025, reveal it had generated income of £4.6 million ($6.1 million), however had whole working prices of £52.1 million ($70 million). It declared a internet lack of £36.2 million ($48.6 million) for the interval.
In Could, Strauss Zelnick, boss of Rockstar guardian firm Take-Two, issued what seemed like a nod to BARB’s struggles. “Making hits appears to get tougher and tougher and tougher as leisure industries mature,” Zelnick stated, speaking on the TD Cowen 54th Annual Know-how, Media & Telecom Convention.
“The oldsters at Rockstar appear to have the ability to make these large hits, and plenty of different individuals have tried. Tons and much, together with former Rockstar workers. And to date, they have not been in a position to do it.”
Wesley Yin-Poole
Director, Information
Wesley is Director, Information at IGN. Discover him on Twitter at @wyp100. You possibly can attain Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.