Latest news with #MindsEye
Express Tribune
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
MindsEye developer announce layoffs after game was critically panned
Build A Rocket Boy, the developer behind MindsEye, has confirmed reports of layoffs less than a month after the troubled release of its debut title. The company, which has yet to comment further, acknowledged the staffing reductions in a statement to IGN, calling the decision a difficult one. The studio has not disclosed the exact number of employees affected by the layoffs, but reports suggest that around 100 of the company's 500 employees could be impacted. MindsEye, a futuristic, single-player narrative action game, was designed as the first entry in an expansive interconnected universe, with high expectations surrounding its release. The title was developed by Leslie Benzies, the former Rockstar Games producer known for his work on the Grand Theft Auto series. MindsEye developers Break a Rocket Boy have reportedly already began laying off over a hundred staff after a disastrous launch. This game has really been a rollercoaster to watch, a Concord level failure that'll probably result in the closure of BARB soon. What a mess. — Synth Potato🥔 (@SynthPotato) June 23, 2025 However, the launch of MindsEye was far from smooth. The game faced widespread criticism for its performance issues, glitches, and poor reviews. In addition to negative feedback from critics, sponsored streams for the game were abruptly cancelled just before they were set to go live, further denting its reputation. Despite initial optimism, including a roadmap for future content and multiplayer elements, MindsEye failed to deliver on its ambitious promises, leaving Build A Rocket Boy to manage the fallout. In its statement, Build A Rocket Boy expressed its commitment to transparency and fairness during the process and promised to explore reassigning roles for affected staff where possible. The company also stressed that it would continue working on MindsEye, despite the challenges ahead. As MindsEye navigates a difficult post-launch period, the studio faces an uphill battle. In a gaming landscape dominated by established titles like Fortnite and Roblox, new entries must contend with long-standing "forever games" that continually evolve and attract dedicated player bases. The future of MindsEye and its interconnected universe remains uncertain as Build A Rocket Boy works to recover from the initial setback.
The Verge
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Verge
MindsEye developer undergoing layoffs less than a month after launch
Build a Rocket Boy has confirmed previous reports from IGN that it is undergoing layoffs less than a month after the tumultuous release of its first game MindsEye. The Verge reached out to Build a Rocket Boy to confirm the layoffs, but they did not respond. In a statement made to IGN, Build A Rocket Boy wrote: We can confirm that we have had to make the painful decision to notify our hardworking team of some internal changes at Build A Rocket Boy. While we are working to reassign roles for as many of those impacted by these changes as possible, sadly we are initiating a formal consultation process that may result in redundancies. This decision has not been made lightly, and we are committed to handling this process with transparency, fairness, and respect for all employees. We will provide further details to the team over the coming weeks. MindsEye is a new futuristic, single-player narrative action game. It was billed as the starting point in an epic, interconnected universe by its creator, former Rockstar Games producer Leslie Benzies, who's known for his work on the GTA series. Its release earlier this month was plagued by poor reviews, reports of major glitches, and even sponsored streams being cancelled moments before they were set to start. MindsEye was supposed to be big. Build A Rocket Boy posted an in-depth roadmap filled with lots of new content updates stretched out over the rest of the year. There were also plans to add multiplayer and open-world elements with additional hopes that the game's community would step up and provide their own labor. 'Hopefully some [players] will create compelling content we can then promote and make that part of our plans to push to other players,' Benzies said in an interview with Build a Rocket Boy has not confirmed the number of employees affected although IGN reporting suggested that around 100 workers would be impacted out of a total headcount of roughly 500. The company said in its statement it remains committed to delivering on its promises for MindsEye. But that will be exceedingly difficult in a climate where any new game with this kind of scope is fighting against forever games like Fortnite and Roblox.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
GTA前首席《MindsEye 心之眼》災難級評價，工作室啟動裁員程序百人丟工作
由前《GTA》系列首席製作人 Leslie Benzies 創立的 Build A Rocket Boy 工作室，在《MindsEye 心之眼》發售的慘烈評價幾乎成今年最爛遊戲後已經啟動裁員程序，這代表將有超過百人將失去工作，但或許製作人也該找找自己問題。 相關新聞：前GTA首席《MindsEye》爛到成2025年評分最低遊戲！媒體、玩家都不賞臉 相關新聞：GTA首席打造《MindsEye》遊戲差到誇張！連工商實況主都挺不下去笑場 MindsEye developers Break a Rocket Boy have reportedly already began laying off over a hundred staff after a disastrous game has really been a rollercoaster to watch, a Concord level failure that'll probably result in the closure of BARB soon. What a mess. — Synth Potato🥔 (@SynthPotato) June 23, 2025 Build A Rocket Boy 工作室已經啟動裁員諮詢程序，根據英國相關法律，如果在 90 天內要裁員超過 100 人就必須啟動這個流程，所以這個 300 人左右的團隊將會失去三分之一員工，看來很多還沒修好的問題跟需要的後續改善也不會立刻解決了。 《MindsEye 心之眼》在 Metacritic 平台只獲得 38 分評價，Steam 也獲得 37% 大多負評，雖然圖形表現相當細緻，但是內容大量 BUG、NPC 行動詭異、手感僵硬以及遊戲長度不同等問題，被玩家認為是 2025 年目前各項體驗都最爛的遊戲。
Business Insider
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Video Game Layoffs Continue with Cuts at MindsEye and Splitgate 2 Studios
The video game landscape is changing, and it's not good for developers. Several layoffs have been announced throughout the year, and it continued on Monday with cuts at two studios. Confident Investing Starts Here: The first round of layoffs comes from MindsEye developer Build A Rocket Boy. The UK-based game developer has begun the 45-day consultation process required when layoffs total more than 100 workers. It's unclear how many will be included in these layoffs, but the studio employs roughly 300 people in the UK and 200 more abroad. These layoffs follow the disastrous launch of MindsEye, which has a Metacritic score of 38 out of 100 and a user score of 2.6 out of 10. Next are cuts from Splitgate 2 developer 1047 Games. A LinkedIn post notes these only include a small number of employees. Additionally, company co-founders Ian Proulx and Nicholas Bagamian have agreed to take no salaries as they 'lock in to deliver the next phase of the project.' Video Game Layoffs Have Become An Industry Trend While Build A Rocket Boy and 1047 Games aren't large developers, they add to a growing trend of layoffs. That includes those that have taken place at major studios, such as Sony's (SONY) Days Gone developer Bend Studios. Warner Bros (WBD) has also cut its game development staff and recently reorganized its studios to focus on core intellectual properties. Some of these layoffs are likely related to overhiring during the COVID-19 pandemic. With people trapped at home during lockdowns, the video game hobby surged. That resulted in increased hiring to meet demand, but those lockdowns ended years ago and it only makes sense that some jobs would be cut. Other issues facing the game industry are large costs and long periods of development. The money that goes toward the development of AAA games has ballooned greatly over the last several years as developers seek to create larger worlds with more detailed graphics. This even saw Ubisoft (UBSFY) start referring to some of its games, such as Skull & Bones as AAAA titles. The higher development costs necessitate the need for hits, as blunders can lead to financial struggles and job cuts. Which Video Game Stocks are Worth Investing In? Using TipRanks' comparison tool, traders can see which video game stocks are worth investing in. That includes major players, such as Nintendo (NTDOF), Microsoft (MSFT), and Sony. Of the big three, NTDOF has a consensus Moderate Buy rating, while MSFT and SONY have Strong Buy ratings. Sony offers the highest upside potential at 20.08%, with Nintendo and Microsoft both offering upside potentials of roughly 7%.
Scotsman
5 days ago
- Business
- Scotsman
Scottish MindsEye developer Build a Rocket Boy may cut over 100 jobs
More than 100 employees at the Leith-based company could be affected by redundancies following the poor launch of MindsEye. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A number of staff at Scottish games company Build a Rocket Boy could be facing redundancy following the launch of MindsEye earlier this month. The Edinburgh-based studio, which was founded by former Grand Theft Auto producer Leslie Benzies, launched its debut title on June 10 to overwhelmingly negative reviews. Players across platforms reported significant performance issues, bugs, glitches and AI behaviour issues, with developers releasing a statement that their teams were working to fix problems. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Now, IGN have reported that the company has begun a redundancy process which could impact more than 100 members of staff. According to an email reviewed by the outlet a 45-day consultation process has been initiated, which typically means that an employer has proposed 100 or more redundancies within 90-days. It is understood that Build a Rocket Boy currently has around 300 employees located in 32 countries, with their main headquarters based in Leith. Build a Rocket Boy previously made staff redundant in early 2024, after raising $110 million in private funding for their Everywhere title.
