Workers laid off from MindsEye developer Build A Rocket Boy have sent an open letter and launched legal action against the company. The Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain’s Game Workers group, representing 93 current and former workers who signed the open letter, announced Friday that they're filing "legal action" against Build A Rocket Boy for the "mishandling of the redundancy process."
Shortly after the launch of MindsEye in June, Build A Rocket Boy announced it had begun a redundancy process at the company, a notice period required by law in the United Kingdom. MindsEye's launch went poorly, and the studio began work on fixing the issues with patches. The studio, founded in 2018 and based in Scotland, was founded by Leslie Benzies, the former Rockstar North president who was heavily involved in the Grand Theft Auto games. MindsEye is the first project from the studio, and part of a larger project called Everywhere, which is intended to be both a massively multiplayer online game and a game platform.
More than 250 workers were ultimately laid off, according to the IWGB. The union wrote in a press release that these layoffs were preceded by an "initial round of layoffs" following $110 million in funding announced in January 2024. IWGB writes in its press release that the legal actions involve “failure to carry out fair consultation ahead of redundancies as well as multiple cases of unfair dismissal.” Aftermath has reached out for more information.
Workers write in the open letter that Build A Rocket Boy was plagued with a "lack of transparency and communication," "unbearable levels of overtime" in which every employee was allegedly asked to work an extra eight hours per week, "disastrous handling of redundancies," and "many other issues." The workers write that Benzies and Build A Rocket Boy co-CEO Mark Gerhard "repeatedly refused to listen to [their] workforce’s years of experience, resulting in one of the worst video game launches this decade."
Aftermath has reached out to Build A Rocket Boy for comment.
“The callousness shown by management towards staff at Build A Rocket Boy is truly awful," former Build A Rocket Boy data analyst Ben Newbon wrote in a statement sent to Aftermath via email. "Even before the disastrous launch of MindsEye, staff had suffered months of crunch, resulting in some horrific mental and even physical illnesses, beyond the typical widespread burnout. Studio leadership have chosen not to take responsibility for the game's failure and instead blamed saboteurs, as if individual employees or online influencers could have caused this. The arrogance of leadership to believe they can act with impunity throughout development and the following redundancies has pushed myself and many former and continuing employees to take a stand.”
IWGB is asking Build A Rocket Boy leadership for “a public apology for this mistreatment of employees and proper compensation for laid-off employees;” for remaining employees on redundancy notices to work through that period or receive payment for the period instead; "a concerted, meaningful, and documented effort to improve conditions and processes within the company, including the acknowledgement of the IWGB as a trade union;" and a "commitment to use official external partners to action any future redundancies and prevent unfair treatment."
"In my experience, Build A Rocket Boy has shown little regard for the wellbeing of its staff," former Build A Rocket Boy audio software engineer Isaac Hudd said in a statement. "Many fantastic, hard-working developers have felt used and discarded, while public statements of care have not matched the reality of working conditions. A pattern of poor decisions from senior management has led to a disappointing launch and ongoing challenges for both players and employees. Having supported many of my colleagues through the recent redundancy process, I have seen how damaging these practices can be. I will continue to speak out until this industry treats its people with the respect they deserve."
