Don't get too attached to MindsEye, the game may soon disappear. Build A Rocket Boy, a studio founded by former Rockstar North president Leslie Benzies, confirmed this week that it has begun a process leading to layoffs. This decision comes just days after the release of MindsEye, its very first game, which received very mixed reception from the press and players.
In a statement, the studio explained that it had “had to make the difficult decision to notify [its] team of internal changes.” The statement stated that Build A Rocket Boy is looking to redeploy certain positions, but did not rule out layoffs. According to several sources, including IGN, more than 100 developers could be affected, although the figure has not been officially confirmed.
Catastrophe in sight
MindsEye was released on June 10th, in an already tense context. The news is therefore not so surprising. The title, presented as an ambitious project both in its open world and its cinematic narrative, has been the subject of critical feedback due to numerous technical issues. Several media outlets and players report bugs, frequent crashes, and very poor performance. Following the reports, PlayStation reportedly began issuing refunds to some players, citing false advertising surrounding the 60 FPS mode on PS5 Pro, which remains unavailable to this day.
The studio posted a message on Discord and social media to apologize and detail the measures in progress. Several corrective patches are currently being deployed on PC and should follow on consoles once certifications are obtained. Build A Rocket Boy claims to continue its optimization work and is committed to providing regular updates, even after the layoffs are announced. The press release states:
2,300 developers laid off... in 2025 alone
This news comes amid a broader context of restructuring in the video game industry. Since the beginning of 2025, more than 2,300 developers have been affected by layoffs at numerous studios around the world, including Ubisoft, Bend Studio, Sumo Group, and Eidos Montreal. EA also made several waves of deletions, notably at Respawn and People Can Fly.
This situation was obviously to be expected given the communication surrounding MindsEye in the months leading up to its release. We even compared its situation to that of The Day Before, which nevertheless had an even more critical launch. While Fntastic closed its doors for good a few days after the release of The Day Before, Build A Rocket Boy did not announce its dissolution.
MindsEye and The Day Before nevertheless illustrate the risks associated with overhyped productions and broken promises. These cases raise questions about communication practices in the industry, player expectations, but also and above all the ability of studios to deliver technically accomplished experiences within often tight deadlines.
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