MindsEye Devs Publish Letter Criticizing the Company

Current and former MindsEye developers have published an open letter criticizing Build A Rocket Boy's leadership, accusing it of mismanagement and several other missteps. The move adds to the growing list of controversies resulting from MindsEye's launch.

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First announced in March 2023, MindsEye was touted as an ambitious cyberpunk action adventure meant to put Build A Rocket Boy—a Scottish studio founded by former GTA franchise lead developer Leslie Benzies—on the map. The game was released in June 2025 to abysmal reviews and fan frustrations. Build A Rocket Boy reportedly started laying off staffers shortly thereafter.

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By Kyle Knight

MindsEye Staffers Allege Mishandled Layoffs and Crunch in Union-Backed Letter

On October 10, the Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB) union published an open letter co-signed by nearly 100 current and former Build a Rocket Buy staffers, accusing the company of mishandled layoffs and other severe missteps surrounding MindsEye's widely panned release. The signatories allege that the studio subjected employees to four months of mandatory crunch ahead of launch, requiring eight hours of overtime per week for all staff. This extra work was reportedly compensated not with overtime pay, but with time off in lieu—at a rate of seven hours for every eight worked—and many employees have yet to take that time off because they keep getting requests for "high-priority" work, IWGB claims.

The letter also appears to confirm earlier reports that the MindsEye developer was hit with layoffs in June 2025, estimating that between 250 and 300 people have been made redundant since then. The union describes the handling of the layoffs themselves as "disastrous." According to the IWGB, the redundancies were marked by misinformation, administrative errors, and potentially wrongful dismissals—missteps that reportedly caused confusion and distress among all employees. The letter further accuses studio leadership of a lack of transparency, stating that staff were routinely given minimal information, which was subject to “radical changes” without consultation.

The undersignatories demand a public apology, proper compensation for laid-off staff, and a documented plan to improve internal processes, including union recognition. "BARB needs to change," the letter—signed by 93 current and former employees—reads. "CEOs need to take a backseat and allow the skilled people who remain at the company to forge the path ahead."

IWGB's Demands for MindsEye Developer BARB

A public apology for this mistreatment of employees and proper compensation for laid-off employees;
The option for remaining employees on redundancy notice to either work their notice period or take Payment in Lieu of Notice (PILON);
A concerted, meaningful, and documented effort to improve conditions and processes within the company, including the acknowledgement of the IWGB as a trade union;
A commitment to use official external partners to action any future redundancies and prevent unfair treatment.

BARB needs to change. CEOs need to take a backseat and allow the skilled people who remain at the company to forge the path ahead.

While highly critical in tone, the letter does not include any direct legal threats against Build A Rocket Boy. It places full responsibility for the game’s troubled launch on the studio’s leadership, without referencing its publisher, IO Interactive. IOI recently indicated that MindsEye's underwhelming performance may end its third-party publishing experiment. BARB, for its part, reportedly has plans to relaunch the game, but details on this purported effort are currently scarce and the move itself has yet to be officially confirmed.

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