MindsEye Studio Faces Major Layoffs Despite Recent Turnaround Promises

In the past week, an unspecified number of staff members at Build a Rocket Boy have been let go from the MindsEye development team, marking the third round of layoffs within the last year. While the exact number of affected employees remains unclear, sources close to the situation indicate that approximately 170 individuals have been impacted, reducing the studio’s workforce to around 80.

Although Build a Rocket Boy has not officially confirmed the layoffs, several employees have taken to LinkedIn to announce their departures, including James Tyler (Technical Level Designer), Tom Cross (Audio Designer), Gary Iain Gough (QA Analyst), and Leah Philpot (Level Designer). The studio has not responded to requests for comment.

Additionally, members of the social media team have shared on the MindsEye Discord that their positions will be ending this week. Digital Marketing Manager George Jons-Clothier noted, “Just popping in to share that tomorrow (May 5th) will be my last working day with BARB. It has been an absolute pleasure and a genuine honor to be part of this community. You folks are some of the kindest, most welcoming, talented, and passionate people I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing and have made every day working on MindsEye feel meaningful and fun.”

Two separate sources have confirmed that as many as 170 employees across the company have been affected. This follows two previous rounds of layoffs and the closure of Build A Rocket Boy France in March. Co-CEO Mark Gerhard attributed the latest cuts to “organized espionage and corporate sabotage” in a LinkedIn post.

The future of the studio remains uncertain. While there have been hints at aspirations for a Cyberpunk 2077-style revival for MindsEye, the recent Blacklist update has left players feeling underwhelmed. The open-world shooter was intended to be part of a larger, high-fidelity user-generated content platform called Everywhere that Build a Rocket Boy has been developing.

Hakan Abrak, CEO of IO Interactive, which initially distributed MindsEye, commented this week, “Those guys were working really hard and it didn’t pan out how they expected, and how we wished either.”