MindsEye CEO Takes Temporary Leave Amid Controversy Over Design Demands and Monitoring Software for Developers

MindsEye developer Build A Rocket Boy is currently focused on addressing the issues that plagued the game’s launch last year, but the studio is mired in controversy. CEO Leslie Benzies, a former Rockstar veteran, has stepped down temporarily during this turbulent period, which includes mandatory monitoring of staff and claims that the game’s poor reception was the result of sabotage. There are also allegations that Benzies himself contributed significantly to the production problems that hindered MindsEye.

A recent report has gathered insights from both representatives and anonymous employees of Build A Rocket Boy. Benzies’ temporary leave and the appointment of co-CEO Mark Gerhard are just the beginning of the challenges the studio faces.

The studio has maintained that “saboteurs” within the company negatively impacted the game’s launch, stating, “Sadly, we do have evidence that there has been a coordinated campaign to purposefully and maliciously damage Build A Rocket Boy’s reputation and undermine confidence in MindsEye. We are working with our legal team and taking steps to address this.”

As part of their investigation, the studio recently implemented Teramind, a workplace monitoring software, on employee computers. Reports indicate that leadership only acknowledged the installation after it was already in place, asking employees to sign a revised IT privacy policy.

In a leaked all-hands video call, Gerhard mentioned that most employees are doing well, but noted, “it’s the 1% that’s the problem,” likely referring to issues of trust and privacy. He claimed that Teramind was “directly linked to MindsEye’s success,” but expressed hope to remove it “within three months.”

Build A Rocket Boy has been vocal about these issues for months. There are also claims that MindsEye faced typical development challenges, worsened by Benzies’ last-minute changes. Developers, including former lead data analyst Ben Newbon, described the project as unpredictable and overloaded. “If management had concentrated on tightening everything up at that point, then it could have worked, but instead they kept on trying to throw extra stuff on it,” Newbon remarked about the pre-launch rush.

Another developer echoed this sentiment, stating, “We had so many fundamental changes to the game that it would’ve been impossible to make a good game in the time we had.” Benzies was known for requesting changes right up to the launch, earning a unique category in the team’s task management system for his requests.

This situation was reportedly exacerbated by an “entourage” of yes men who supported Benzies’ ideas, with one staff member commenting, “They crushed their own talent under the yoke of appeasing a single person at the very top.”

Another anonymous developer noted that Benzies could have had a winning formula if he had heeded the advice of the many talented professionals they hired. Newbon was blunt in his critique of MindsEye, which Build A Rocket Boy hopes can achieve a turnaround similar to No Man’s Sky or Cyberpunk 2077. Since the February 4 Update 7, MindsEye’s recent Steam user reviews have reached 80% positive, but the momentum appears limited.

Newbon believes the challenge lies in the fact that No Man’s Sky and Cyberpunk 2077 had solid foundations, whereas MindsEye is “still an extremely boring game” even without the added issues. “Leadership do not listen,” he stated. “Plus, they’ve culled over half the studio. They don’t know how to run a business. They don’t know how to run a game studio.”

MindsEye has been rated as one of the worst games of 2025.