MindsEye developer reportedly hit with layoffs after rough launch

MindsEye developer Build a Rocket Boy is preparing for a round of layoffs after the rough launch of its debut game, according to a new report from IGN. An anonymous source told the outlet there’s no definitive number yet as to how many people the studio is laying off, but it could be 100 or more.

UK labor law states that an employer that is proposing 20 or more redundancies at one “establishment” within 90 days must go through a process of collective redundancy consultation before the redundancies can go ahead. This means informing and consulting appropriate representatives of the affected employees to allow them to meet with the employer. This consultation must begin at least 30 days before the first dismissal (for cases of under 100 dismissals), or 45 days before (for more than 100 dismissals). According to the anonymous source, for Build a Rocket Boy’s case, a 45-day consultation period began on Monday, June 23. According to IGN’s report, Build a Rocket Boy has roughly 300 employees in the UK, so a third or more of its UK workforce may get laid off. The studio also employs about 200 people outside of the UK, and it’s unclear at this time if they’ll be affected as well.

The prospective layoffs come after a disastrous journey for MindsEye and its developer, one that was met with speed bumps and roadblocks before the game even launched. It was released as a buggy mess, one that led to refunds from Sony in a situation similar to Cyberpunk 2077’s problem-plagued release. Even streamers paid to promote the game struggled to do so. Within days of MindsEye launching, Build a Rocket Boy deployed a hotfix and announced a roadmap to move the game toward a playable state.

MindsEye originally began as a game inside Build a Rocket Boy’s Roblox-like platform, Everywhere. That content platform isn’t out yet, and, with the studio’s impending layoffs, it’s unknown what the future holds for it.

MindsEye is out now for PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X.