Look, let's be honest about this. Build A Rocket Boy, the studio behind the action thriller game MindsEye, is reportedly facing effective closure after executing massive staff layoffs. Multiple insiders have leaked that nearly all remaining employees have received termination notices.

Build A Rocket Boy has been struggling continuously since the launch of MindsEye in 2025. MindsEye had built massive hype as a project led by Leslie Benzies, who served as a core producer from GTA 3 to GTA 5, over an 8-year development cycle. However, the game was universally panned by critics and gamers alike for its low-freedom linear structure, unfair missions, clumsy combat, severe optimization errors, critical bugs, and a lackluster story. Consequently, the PS5 version hit a dismal 29 on Metacritic, while Steam user reviews settled at Mixed (48 percent positive). Over on Metacritic, it even secured the shameful title of the worst game of 2025.

The consensus is that this disaster happened because the game was originally conceived as a tech demo for the online platform Everywhere, but after troubled development, the studio abruptly pivoted and rushed out an unfinished product early. Following launch, Build A Rocket Boy carried out multiple rounds of layoffs, and relations with publisher IO Interactive deteriorated to the point of contract termination.

Things went from bad to worse as recurring layoffs were compounded by internal whistleblowing regarding management issues and unauthorized employee surveillance. According to former staff members speaking out on social media platforms like LinkedIn and X, almost everyone has left the company, pushing the studio to the brink of complete shutdown.