Build A Rocket Boy Workforce Collapses Following 170 Job Cuts MindsEye Critical Failure Allegations Of Sabotage And Union Surveillance Lawsuits
Build A Rocket Boy has terminated approximately 170 employees in its 3rd major round of redundancies within a single year. The studio has experienced a major staff reduction which results in 80 remaining employees who were part of 250 when the studio first opened according to Kotaku. The former employees from the studio responsible for the 2025 title MindsEye have shared their departure news through LinkedIn.
Leslie Benzies who worked as a Rockstar Games executive established the studio in 2016. The 2025 launch of MindsEye received critical failure because people initially expected his Grand Theft Auto series history to deliver better results. The game received poor reviews which caused internal problems that resulted in Build A Rocket Boy shutting down its entire French operation in March. The developer faces difficulties sustaining its ambitious Everywhere platform which was designed to deliver user generated content through high graphical fidelity environments according to the latest 2026 contraction.
Co CEO Mark Gerhard announced on LinkedIn that 170 layoffs occurred because of corporate espionage and organized sabotage. Gerhard asserts that people intentionally destroyed MindsEye to make the game fail. He claimed that upcoming game updates will feature characters based on ex employees whom he suspects participated in the supposed conspiracy.
The IWGB Game Workers Union has conducted thorough investigations into the studio's internal culture. Build A Rocket Boy faced legal action from the union in April 2026 when they claimed the company deployed unauthorized surveillance software onto developers' private devices. Staff members who signed an open letter about the situation claimed that their organization lacked transparency while they faced an extreme work environment during critical projects. George Jons Clothier The digital marketing manager confirmed his departure from the company on May 5 through the MindsEye Discord because the social media team will be shut down.
The studio had previously gestured toward a major turnaround for MindsEye similar to the 2.0 relaunch seen by Cyberpunk 2077. The Blacklist update failed to attract players back to the game which resulted in no better performance for the open world shooter. Hakan Abrak the CEO of IO Interactive noted this week that while the teams worked hard the project did not pan out as expected for the initial distribution partner.
All staff members except for 80 have left the company thus putting the future of the Everywhere platform at risk. The studio has not issued a formal public comment regarding the 170 staff redundancies or the ongoing surveillance lawsuits. Build A Rocket Boy currently exists in a state which completely contradicts the high expectations that people established during its founding nearly 10 years ago.
