{"id":1920461,"date":"2026-05-06T09:52:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T06:52:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1920461"},"modified":"2026-05-06T09:52:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T06:52:17","slug":"mindseye-studio-build-a-rocket-boy-reportedly-lays-off-around-170-more-employees-following-story-campaign-update-inspired-by-alleged-sabotage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1920461","title":{"rendered":"MindsEye studio Build A Rocket Boy reportedly lays off around 170 more employees following story campaign update inspired by alleged sabotage"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/mindseye\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      MindsEye<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">MindsEye studio Build A Rocket Boy reportedly lays off around 170 more employees following story campaign update inspired by alleged sabotage<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">The studio hasn&#8217;t publicly announced the layoffs.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/mindseye-build-a-rocket-boy-(5).jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"A car action sequence under rainy weather in MindsEye\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"mindseye-build-a-rocket-boy-(5).jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Build A Rocket Boy<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/fran-j-ruiz-author.png?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"fran-j-ruiz-author.png\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/fran-ruiz\">Fran Ruiz<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Contributor<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-05-06T09:52:17+00:00\">May 6, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<div class=\"comments\">\n      <a class=\"comments__link comments-bubble\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/mindseye-developer-build-a-rocket-boy-may-2026-layoffs?view=comments\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n          2 comments<br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"1f15923b-3f2a-4e98-b438-353ad6ac6bae\" data-name=\"MindsEye\" data-follow-text=\"Follow MindsEye\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following MindsEye\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow MindsEye\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following MindsEye\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow MindsEye\" title=\"Follow MindsEye\"><br \/>\n  Follow MindsEye<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/mindseye\">MindsEye<\/a>&#8216;s dismal launch &#8211; and the chaos surrounding its production and release &#8211; continues to be one of the games industry&#8217;s most intriguing sagas in recent memory. The bad news seems far from over, though, as reports suggest around 170 employees have been laid off in the past week.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/kotaku.com\/mindseye-studio-hit-with-more-mass-layoffs-just-as-it-was-promising-a-turnaround-2000693274\">Kotaku<\/a> shared the news, claiming &#8220;sources familiar with the restructuring&#8221; have confirmed &#8220;that roughly 170 members at the studio have been affected by the layoffs, bringing the total number of staff at the studio down to somewhere around 80 employees&#8221;. The cuts arrive after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/mindseye-developer-build-a-rocket-boy-hit-with-layoffs-again-co-ceo-blames-espionage-and-sabotage\">another wave of layoffs in March<\/a> and last summer.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"MindsEye - Official \u2018More Than It Seems\u2019 2026 Trailer\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kcNCqqYN-Mc?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/kcNCqqYN-Mc\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">MindsEye &#8211; Official \u2018More Than It Seems\u2019 2026 Trailer<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>MindsEye &#8211; Official &#8216;More Than It Seems&#8217; 2026 Trailer<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=kcNCqqYN-Mc\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Build A Rocket Boy hasn&#8217;t publicly announced the layoffs yet, but ex-staffers like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/feed\/update\/urn:li:activity:7455907851946049536\/\">James Tyler<\/a> (Technical Level Designer) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/feed\/update\/urn:li:activity:7456298079143587842\/\">Tom Cross<\/a> (Audio Designer) confirmed via LinkedIn they&#8217;re no longer working at the studio. Members of the studio&#8217;s social media team also shared they&#8217;d be ending their work at the developer this week via Discord, according to Kotaku&#8217;s report.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Back in March, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/mindseye-developer-build-a-rocket-boy-and-publisher-ioi-partners-complete-separation\">IOI Partners officially exited the publishing deal with Build A Rocket Boy<\/a>, leaving the developer to handle MindsEye&#8217;s publishing moving forward. Since then, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/the-worst-launch-in-history-admits-mindseye-boss\">CEO Mark Gerhard has continued to point to external forces<\/a> that tried to sabotage the game and its user-generated content ambitions. In fact, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/mindseye-has-a-new-update-and-a-cheaper-price-as-developer-launches-comeback-bid\">the recent Blacklisted content update<\/a> added a short story campaign inspired by the alleged real-life attacks against BARB.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Chris Wilson, an ex-lead animator on MindsEye, <a href=\"https:\/\/kotaku.com\/mindseye-build-a-rocket-boy-leslie-benzies-mark-gerhard-cyber-boi-layoffs-teramind-2000691386\">has explained what went wrong with the game from his point of view<\/a>, and shot down the idea the company&#8217;s staff would try to sabotage its own creative endeavour: &#8220;The development staff did all that they could and tried their hardest to make it something very, very special. We would in no way try to sabotage or bring down the company&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/mindseye\">MindsEye<\/a>&#8216;s dismal launch &#8211; and the chaos surrounding its production and release &#8211; continues to be one of the games industry&#8217;s most intriguing sagas in recent memory. The bad news seems far from over, though, as reports suggest around 170 employees have been laid off in the past week.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/kotaku.com\/mindseye-studio-hit-with-more-mass-layoffs-just-as-it-was-promising-a-turnaround-2000693274\">Kotaku<\/a> shared the news, claiming &#8220;sources familiar with the restructuring&#8221; have confirmed &#8220;that roughly 170 members at the studio have been affected by the layoffs, bringing the total number of staff at the studio down to somewhere around 80 employees&#8221;. The cuts arrive after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/mindseye-developer-build-a-rocket-boy-hit-with-layoffs-again-co-ceo-blames-espionage-and-sabotage\">another wave of layoffs in March<\/a> and last summer.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"MindsEye - Official \u2018More Than It Seems\u2019 2026 Trailer\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kcNCqqYN-Mc?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/kcNCqqYN-Mc\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">MindsEye &#8211; Official \u2018More Than It Seems\u2019 2026 Trailer<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>MindsEye &#8211; Official &#8216;More Than It Seems&#8217; 2026 Trailer<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=kcNCqqYN-Mc\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Build A Rocket Boy hasn&#8217;t publicly announced the layoffs yet, but ex-staffers like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/feed\/update\/urn:li:activity:7455907851946049536\/\">James Tyler<\/a> (Technical Level Designer) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/feed\/update\/urn:li:activity:7456298079143587842\/\">Tom Cross<\/a> (Audio Designer) confirmed via LinkedIn they&#8217;re no longer working at the studio. Members of the studio&#8217;s social media team also shared they&#8217;d be ending their work at the developer this week via Discord, according to Kotaku&#8217;s report.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Back in March, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/mindseye-developer-build-a-rocket-boy-and-publisher-ioi-partners-complete-separation\">IOI Partners officially exited the publishing deal with Build A Rocket Boy<\/a>, leaving the developer to handle MindsEye&#8217;s publishing moving forward. Since then, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/the-worst-launch-in-history-admits-mindseye-boss\">CEO Mark Gerhard has continued to point to external forces<\/a> that tried to sabotage the game and its user-generated content ambitions. In fact, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/mindseye-has-a-new-update-and-a-cheaper-price-as-developer-launches-comeback-bid\">the recent Blacklisted content update<\/a> added a short story campaign inspired by the alleged real-life attacks against BARB.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Chris Wilson, an ex-lead animator on MindsEye, <a href=\"https:\/\/kotaku.com\/mindseye-build-a-rocket-boy-leslie-benzies-mark-gerhard-cyber-boi-layoffs-teramind-2000691386\">has explained what went wrong with the game from his point of view<\/a>, and shot down the idea the company&#8217;s staff would try to sabotage its own creative endeavour: &#8220;The development staff did all that they could and tried their hardest to make it something very, very special. We would in no way try to sabotage or bring down the company&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News MindsEye MindsEye studio Build A Rocket Boy reportedly lays off around 170 more employees following story campaign update inspired by alleged sabotage The studio hasn&#8217;t publicly announced the layoffs. Image credit: Build A Rocket Boy News by Fran Ruiz Contributor Published on May 6, 2026 2 comments Follow MindsEye MindsEye&#8216;s dismal launch &#8211; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-1920461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1920461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1920461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1920461\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1920461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1920461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1920461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}