Build a Rocket Boy's debut title, MindsEye, is likely to finish 2025 as the worst-rated game this year and one of the year's biggest flops. Prior to release, there was plenty of hype around it due to former Grand Theft Auto producer and Build a Rocket Boy founder, Leslie Benzies, leading the charge at the studio alongside Mark Gerhard. But even before the game was out, signs began to appear online that things weren't going well at Build a Rocket Boy.
Negative early previews, combined with a launch trailer that failed to impress, and a lack of information on the game so close to its release, gave players waiting to grab MindsEye misgivings about the game, to say the least. Then, two chief executives at Build a Rocket Boy left the studio just two weeks before MindsEye's launch, which came shortly after physical copies of the game got out into the wild early, and players had begun posting clips of the severe technical issues the game had and its lacking gameplay.
A statement from Build a Rocket Boy claiming a day one patch would solve these issues fell on deaf ears, especially since when that day one patch came, it didn't do what Build a Rocket Boy promised, and the game was still riddled with issues. The studio released a statement committing to fixing it, saying they were "heartbroken" over the state of the game's launch, while PlayStation had begun giving players who purchased the game refunds if they wanted one.
Leslie Benzies pointed at internal and external saboteurs for the poor state of the game (which he had already done when MindsEye was getting negative previews), but after mass layoffs were confirmed at the studio and reports that the game's flop could push IO Interactive, the game's publisher and the first game published by the Hitman devs, to abandon its publishing arm, former and current Build a Rocket Boy developers have laid the blame for the studio's struggles where it arguably should fall: with its leaders.
The buck has to stop somewhere, usually with the people who have the letters 'CEO' in front of their name, and according to 93 former and current Build a Rocket Boy developers in an open letter, that's exactly who is to blame.
"Employees and ex-employees at Build a Rocket Boy (BARB), together with the Game Workers Branch of the Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB), are writing to address the longstanding disrespect and mistreatment of your staff," the letter, which is titled 'Open Letter to the Executive Leadership at Build a Rocket Boy', begins.
"For years, you have expected them to adapt to your every whim, with those in disagreement being shut down or cast aside. We estimate a UK-majority of the 250-300 workers across the company have now lost their livelihoods. These layoffs happened because you repeatedly refused to listen to your workforce's years of experience, resulting in one of the worst video game launches this decade."
The letter goes on to directly call out three key faults in leadership, including "lack of transparency and communication," "unbearable levels of overtime," and "disastrous handling of redundancies," before continuing that these are just some of the more public faults.
"Our experience at the company has been one of burnout, job insecurity, health issues, and the failure of a game that many of us have put years of our lives into. 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."
The developers also name four demands they have of leadership:
- 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
The developers close off the letter by saying, "Mark Gerhard and Leslie Benzies, you often refer to your employees as 'family.' But we ask you to consider; is this really how you treat your own?"
Way before any of this happened, when Build a Rocket Boy was in its earliest days, Leslie Benzies and the studio's leadership secured $110 million in funding for the studio and its debut projects. With Benzies name attached to the studio, and the promise of a new Grand Theft Auto-sized game, there was a lot of excitement around what Build a Rocket Boy could become.
Now, it seems like the only thing it'll become is another failed studio, unless something drastically changes.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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