Build a Rocket Boy Appears to Be Shutting Down After Final Layoffs

Build a Rocket Boy, the Edinburgh-based studio behind the action game MindsEye, appears to be closing after laying off all of its remaining employees. Multiple staff members posted on LinkedIn in mid-September 2026 that their roles had been made redundant, though the studio has not publicly confirmed a shutdown.

What staff have said

Lead weapon and prop artist Adam Ridsdale wrote that he and “the rest of my colleagues at Build a Rocket Boy” were “facing redundancy.” Principal talent acquisition partner Dan Hawkins said he would “be seeing BARB through till the very end, helping wrap things up here in the HR department,” language that suggests the closure is close. Senior VFX artist Jason Waller said “everybody else left at Barb” had been made redundant. Other departures include head of audio Stuart Ross, a Rockstar veteran. Build a Rocket Boy did not respond to requests for comment at the time of reporting.

MindsEye and the studio’s decline

Build a Rocket Boy was founded by Leslie Benzies, the former Rockstar North president and longtime producer on the Grand Theft Auto series. Its debut game, MindsEye, launched on June 10, 2025 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC to harsh reviews, with criticism focused on its story, technical problems and dated design.

Rather than focus only on fixing the game, the studio’s leadership repeatedly claimed it was the target of a coordinated sabotage campaign. That stance reportedly caused friction with publisher IO Interactive, which later severed ties with the studio, and a planned Hitman crossover was cancelled as part of the split. BARB continued to release updates and an expansion it said would provide “evidence of the sabotage,” but these did little to change the game’s reputation.

Over the same period, the studio went through several rounds of layoffs, and former employees made allegations of gross mismanagement and unauthorised surveillance of staff.

What happens to MindsEye

There has been no official statement on the future of MindsEye’s online features, updates or store listings. Players who own the game should expect no further content, and any online-dependent features could be at risk if the studio closes. Until BARB or its partners make an announcement, the status of the game’s servers and storefront availability remains unclear.

Why it matters

BARB’s collapse is one of the most dramatic studio failures of recent years. It combined a high-profile founder, a heavily marketed debut and a poor launch, followed by public conflict over the game’s reception and the loss of its publisher.

For players, the lesson is to be cautious with games from new studios whose launch is troubled, especially where ongoing support is promised. For the wider industry, it adds to a long list of studio closures and layoffs across 2025 and 2026, and it shows how quickly a single failed launch can end a studio when leadership and publisher relationships break down at the same time.