MindsEye Developers Report Further Layoffs as Build A Rocket Boy's Future Comes Into Question

More developers connected to MindsEye have said they have been laid off, intensifying uncertainty around Build A Rocket Boy and the future of its troubled action-adventure game. The reported cuts come after multiple previous redundancy rounds, an unsuccessful effort to revive MindsEye through major updates, and financial filings that showed a substantial loss for the company.

The full scale of the newest job losses has not been confirmed publicly. However, the reports add to a difficult sequence of events for the Scottish studio, which had once expanded to more than 500 employees while pursuing an ambitious combination of its Everywhere creation-platform plans and the story-driven MindsEye project.

It remains unclear whether Build A Rocket Boy will be dissolved or continue in some form. One person familiar with the studio's situation indicated that the company could potentially remain in existence even if its staff base were reduced entirely. The lack of clarity leaves major questions for employees, players waiting on further fixes, and the long-term status of MindsEye itself.

A troubled path from launch to relaunch

MindsEye launched in June 2025 and rapidly attracted harsh criticism from players. Reports of poor performance, technical problems, glitches, and inconsistent AI behavior shaped the conversation around the game in its opening period. Many players described it as broken or buggy, and its reception quickly became one of the most prominent negative game-launch stories of the year.

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Build A Rocket Boy acknowledged the player frustration soon afterward. The company said it was heartbroken by the problems people had experienced and committed to delivering patches aimed at improving the game. The issues cited included significant performance concerns, gameplay glitches, and AI-related bugs.

Studio founder Leslie Benzies also sought to reassure staff that the business could recover and that MindsEye could eventually be relaunched. Benzies attributed part of the game's difficulties to what he described as internal and external saboteurs. Chief executive Mark Gerhard separately said the company had been looking into alleged criminal activity connected to the launch period.

Those claims did not change the immediate commercial picture. Build A Rocket Boy later attempted a more visible reset for the game through the Blacklisted update, presenting it as a relaunch-style initiative. The update did not create a meaningful turnaround in player interest. Additional patches likewise failed to substantially shift the game's trajectory, while a 50% discount on Steam appears to have had little impact.

Steam's available player data illustrates the scale of the challenge on PC. MindsEye recorded a 24-hour peak concurrent player count of just 16. Player figures for console versions are not publicly available, so there is no equivalent current measure for the game's PlayStation or Xbox audience. Even so, the small Steam number offers a stark indication of how difficult it has been for the title to regain momentum after launch.

Layoffs followed an earlier redundancy process

The latest reported layoffs are not the first staffing crisis at Build A Rocket Boy. In July 2025, the studio sent at-risk-of-redundancy notices to its UK workforce, which was then believed to be around 300 people. Further job cuts followed in subsequent periods.

The redundancies also became a public flashpoint this summer, when former employees protested outside the studio. The protest was linked to an all-expenses-paid playtest day held while people affected by the cuts were facing the consequences of losing their jobs. The event underlined the strained relationship between the company and at least some of its former staff.

For a studio that had grown rapidly, the repeated reductions are especially significant. Build A Rocket Boy had originally put considerable emphasis on Everywhere, a user-creation platform that was often characterized as a Roblox-like proposition intended for an adult audience. MindsEye was initially meant to exist within that broader vision.

Over time, the company redirected its attention toward MindsEye as the central commercial release. That pivot placed even greater importance on a successful launch. When the game arrived in a deeply compromised state and struggled to recover, the consequences extended well beyond one product's review scores or update schedule.

The weight of expectation around Leslie Benzies

Build A Rocket Boy drew intense attention in part because of Benzies' history at Rockstar Games. He was a major figure on the Grand Theft Auto development team and is widely viewed as one of the people who helped shape the franchise into an enormous success. His involvement gave the new studio considerable visibility and raised expectations for what its projects might achieve.

Benzies left Rockstar in 2016 during a legal dispute involving unpaid royalties. That case was later settled out of court. The association with Grand Theft Auto nevertheless remained a major part of the public narrative surrounding Build A Rocket Boy, particularly as MindsEye positioned itself as a cinematic, story-focused action experience with a large-scale ambition.

That background also helped the company secure considerable investment. By 2024, Build A Rocket Boy had attracted more than £233 million, or about $313 million, in funding. IO Interactive, the developer behind Hitman, acquired publishing rights for MindsEye. The scale of the financing and the publishing arrangement reflected the confidence that surrounded the project before release.

In retrospect, the contrast between that early confidence and the game's current position is sharp. High-profile leadership and substantial investment can provide a studio with resources, but they do not guarantee a smooth production, a stable launch, or a lasting audience. MindsEye's experience has become a particularly visible example of the risks attached to expensive new game ventures.

Financial filings reveal a difficult business picture

Build A Rocket Boy's latest financial statements, covering the period up to September 30, 2025, provide further context for the concern surrounding the studio. The company reported revenue of £4.6 million, approximately $6.1 million, during the period. Its total operating costs reached £52.1 million, or around $70 million.

The result was a declared net loss of £36.2 million, approximately $48.6 million. Those figures do not alone determine what will happen next, particularly because game development businesses can carry large costs before revenues are realized. But alongside layoffs, weak PC engagement and a failed relaunch effort, they paint a difficult picture for Build A Rocket Boy's immediate outlook.

There is also a broader industry lesson in the situation. Building a hit game is increasingly expensive and unpredictable, even for companies led by experienced developers with recognizable credits. During a May appearance at the TD Cowen 54th Annual Technology, Media & Telecom Conference, Take-Two chief executive Strauss Zelnick remarked that creating hits becomes harder as entertainment industries mature. He noted that Rockstar has repeatedly produced huge successes, while many other teams, including former Rockstar employees, have attempted to do the same without matching that record.

The remarks were not a direct assessment of Build A Rocket Boy's internal operations, but they resonated with the wider challenge facing studios attempting to turn pedigree, investment and ambition into a durable blockbuster franchise.

What comes next for MindsEye and Build A Rocket Boy?

At present, there is no confirmed roadmap explaining whether MindsEye will receive further updates, whether the Blacklisted effort will continue, or whether Build A Rocket Boy has a path to maintaining an active development team. The studio's future may depend on factors that are not public, including its remaining funding, contractual obligations, leadership decisions and any work being done behind the scenes.

For MindsEye players, the immediate concern is whether promised technical improvements and support will continue. The title's post-launch history shows that Build A Rocket Boy did attempt to address the issues that defined its release, but the available Steam player numbers suggest those efforts have not persuaded a sizable audience to return.

For the employees reporting layoffs, the situation is more immediate. Game-industry job cuts have continued to affect teams of all sizes, but the reported losses at Build A Rocket Boy carry the added weight of a project once presented as a major new force in interactive entertainment. A company that grew around ambitious platform and game-development goals now faces serious uncertainty about its ability to continue.

Until Build A Rocket Boy provides a clearer public account of its staffing situation and plans, the fate of both the studio and MindsEye remains unresolved. What is clear is that the game's troubled launch has grown into a much wider crisis--one involving jobs, finances, player confidence and the future of a studio built on exceptionally high expectations.