In brief
Build a Rocket Boy's first game, 'MindsEye', faced significant criticism after its launch, receiving labels such as 'broken' and 'the worst game of 2025.' Despite former Rockstar executive Leslie Benzies' assurances, internal strife has emerged amidst allegations of poor management and workplace stress. With significant staff layoffs and a challenging public reception, the studio's future remains uncertain as it grapples with its identity and direction in a competitive gaming landscape.
In July this year, workers at Build a Rocket Boy, a video game studio in Edinburgh, were called to an all-staff meeting.
Their first ever game, a sci-fi adventure called MindsEye, had been released three weeks earlier - and it had been a total disaster.
Critics and players called it broken, buggy, and the worst game of 2025.
Addressing staff via video link, the company's boss, Leslie Benzies, assured them there was a plan to get things back on track and said the negativity they'd seen was uncalled for.
Then he pivoted, alleging internal and external forces had been working to scupper the MindsEye launch.
He told the assembled workers - who'd been informed they faced redundancy just a week earlier - there would be an effort to root out saboteurs within the company.
Staff who worked at the studio say they were stunned - and not only by the strength of the language. They simply didn't believe him.
As far as they were concerned, there was no conspiracy - and the reasons for MindsEye's failure were clear.
Mr Benzies is well-known for his work at Rockstar Games, where he was a senior figure on the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) series, regarded as a key architect of its success.
He left in 2016, three years after the record-breaking launch of GTA 5, and in that same year, he set up Build a Rocket Boy, which rapidly grew to become a significant player in the industry.
Despite initial successes, the road to launch was fraught with dysfunction, exacerbated by management's hurried decision-making and a culture that discouraged honest feedback.
After the release of MindsEye on June 10, 2025, the mood shifted; early reviews highlighted numerous gameplay issues, leading to a rapid decline in staff morale as they dealt with heavy criticism and subsequent layoffs.
As the company faces its toughest challenge yet, former employees express doubt that MindsEye can recover while reflecting on their experiences and the industry's historical struggles with workplace pressures and management practices.
