MindsEye Studio Build A Rocket Boy announces more layoffs

Build A Rocket Boy, the Scotland-based development studio behind last year's disastrous action-adventure. MindsEyeagain announced further layoffs in the company. New post by MindsEye Studio CEO Mark Gerhard says there have been more layoffs at Build A Rocket Boy, calling it a “deeply painful decision,” before saying there is overwhelming evidence of organized espionage and corporate sabotage.

With former Rockstar Games president Leslie Benzies at the helm, fans expected MindsEye to be a possible contender for iconic Grand Theft Auto series. Unfortunately, things didn't quite turn out that way. The studio's first title quickly received negative reviews from players and critics alike MindsEye it even became the worst-rated game of 2025, according to Metacritic. While recent reviews of the title on Steam are now “mostly positive”, likely due to continued support from the remaining Build A Rocket Boy staff, MindsEye was criticized at launch for its empty world, lackluster story, and constant bugs and performance issues.

This failure in 2025 proves that you shouldn't try and compete with Grand Theft Auto

MindsEye's disastrous release shows the challenges of trying to compete with Grand Theft Auto.

Build A Rocket Boy announces more layoffs

After the disastrous launch of Build A Rocket Boy, she announced layoffs at the studio, which came just days later MindsEyeReleased for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. Now, nearly a year later, the studio has released a new LinkedIn post announcing even more layoffs. “Over the past few years, the games industry has gone through one of the most difficult times in its history. Many talented developers around the world have been affected by layoffs and restructuring. Unfortunately, today we have to share that Build A Rocket Boy is not immune to these pressures,” said CEO Mark Gerhard.

The statement went on to say that Build A Rocket Boy has now announced a further number of redundancies and admits it is a “deeply painful decision”. Gerhard acknowledges the impact this will have on those affected before continuing to lay blame MindsEyeLaunch based on factors beyond the studio's control. The CEO says the studio has been working with outside partners and legal counsel over the past few months to investigate apparent criminal activity surrounding the launch of its first title. According to Gerhard, these findings have now led to “overwhelming evidence of organized espionage and corporate sabotage affecting MindsEye.” No further details were provided as the CEO says the matter is headed for prosecution, so full details cannot yet be shared publicly.

In October 2025, nearly 100 current and former employees issued a joint letter of criticism MindsEye studio. An open letter published by the Independent Workers of Great Britain union accused the studio of mishandling the layoffs, claiming that Build A Rocket Boy subjected its staff to a four-month mandatory layoff, requiring an additional eight hours of overtime per week for all developers. The letter did not threaten any legal action against Build A Rocket Boy, but included a number of demands that included a public apology for the mistreatment of employees, proper compensation for those affected by the layoffs, meaningful efforts to improve working conditions, and more.

Despite the constant challenges thrown in the way of Build A Rocket Boy, those who remain at the studio seem determined to improve MindsEye with ongoing updates. Last month, the studio announced a “new phase of development” for the title after parting ways with publisher IO Interactive. Update 7 then launched on all supported platforms, bringing a brand refresh and another step forward in overall polish. According to the official update notes, the update focused on smoothing out the flow of the campaign, making it easier to track objectives, and continuing to refine AI behavior. There was no word on whether today's layoffs will impact any other company updates MindsEye.