Turbulence at Build a Rocket Boy: Another Wave of Layoffs Hits Troubled Scottish Developer

The Scottish gaming industry, once a beacon of rapid expansion and high-budget ambition, is currently witnessing the slow, agonizing contraction of one of its most prominent players. Build a Rocket Boy (BARB), the studio founded by former Rockstar North president Leslie Benzies, has reportedly initiated yet another round of layoffs. This latest reduction in force comes amidst a string of failures that have plagued the studio’s flagship project, MindsEye, since its disastrous launch in June 2025.

As staff members take to social media to signal their departure, the future of the studio—and its remaining workforce—remains shrouded in uncertainty.

The Latest Developments: A Studio in Retreat

The confirmation of further job cuts arrived via reports from IGN and corroborated by the public statements of departing employees. Among those confirming their exit is Dan Hawkins, the studio’s principal talent acquisition partner and HR operations lead.

"With a very heavy heart I raise my green banner, along with the rest of my colleagues at Build a Rocket Boy," Hawkins wrote in a candid LinkedIn post. Reflecting on his tenure, which saw the studio scale from 200 to 550 employees, Hawkins noted that he would remain with the company temporarily to assist in the wind-down of the HR department.

While the exact number of individuals impacted by this latest round remains unconfirmed, the sentiment among the remaining staff is one of resignation. One source familiar with the company’s internal operations suggested that even if the entirety of the current workforce is let go, the legal entity of Build a Rocket Boy may not necessarily be dissolved immediately, leaving the door open for a potential, albeit unlikely, pivot or acquisition of the studio’s assets.

A Chronology of Decline: From Ambition to Austerity

To understand the current state of Build a Rocket Boy, one must look back at the trajectory of MindsEye.

The June 2025 Launch

When MindsEye finally reached the market in mid-2025, it was met with a chorus of criticism. Players reported a litany of technical failures, including game-breaking bugs and severe performance issues that rendered the title largely unplayable on various hardware configurations. The situation was exacerbated by the abrupt, last-minute cancellation of sponsored marketing streams, which signaled to both the public and investors that the studio was in crisis mode behind the scenes.

The First Wave of Redundancies

Following the critical and commercial failure of the launch, the studio moved quickly to slash costs. Reports surfaced shortly after the release indicating that approximately 300 developers had been laid off. This was intended to be a stabilizing measure, allowing the company to focus on essential performance patches and content updates.

The "New Phase" and Institutional Conflict

Despite the initial cuts, the studio continued to struggle. Throughout late 2025 and early 2026, the company was rocked by reports of internal strife, including bizarre allegations of corporate espionage and sabotage. By February 2026, leadership attempted to rebrand the company’s efforts, announcing a "new phase of ongoing development" for MindsEye in a desperate bid to rejuvenate public interest.

The Severing of Publishing Ties

The most significant blow to the studio’s operational autonomy came in March 2026, when IO Interactive’s publishing division, IOI Partners, officially terminated its agreement with Build a Rocket Boy. The loss of a major publishing partner effectively cut off a lifeline of resources and distribution support, signaling to the wider industry that the project was no longer a viable commercial prospect for outside entities.

Supporting Data and Internal Friction

The culture within the studio has been described by insiders as increasingly strained, particularly as management decisions clashed with the realities faced by the workforce.

A flashpoint occurred in July 2026, when employees staged a protest outside the studio’s Edinburgh offices. The cause of the ire was an "all-expenses-paid" fan event that the studio’s leadership insisted on proceeding with. For staff who had just witnessed hundreds of their peers being let go, the optics of hosting a lavish party for fans while simultaneously slashing the workforce were perceived as profoundly out of touch. The incident served as a public manifestation of the disconnect between the studio’s executive vision and its operational reality.

Furthermore, the studio’s reliance on "free starter pack" trials in late 2025—a common tactic for developers trying to salvage interest in a failing title—failed to move the needle on player retention or reviews, ultimately contributing to the exhaustion of the studio’s financial runway.

Official Responses and Corporate Silence

Build a Rocket Boy has maintained a policy of extreme discretion throughout this period. Requests for comment regarding the latest layoffs have gone unanswered. The studio’s official channels have remained largely silent on the specific scale of the current cuts, focusing instead on the remaining skeleton crew’s efforts to finalize updates or manage administrative closures.

This silence stands in stark contrast to the studio’s earlier years, when it was touted as one of the most exciting prospects in the global gaming industry, backed by the prestige of Leslie Benzies. The lack of transparent communication has only served to fuel speculation among the gaming community and former employees alike, many of whom have used social media to voice their frustration regarding the studio’s lack of accountability.

Implications for the Industry and the Future of ‘MindsEye’

The situation at Build a Rocket Boy serves as a cautionary tale for the games industry, particularly for high-budget, "AAA-aspirational" studios. The collapse highlights three critical areas of concern:

1. The Perils of Long-Term Development: The sheer time and capital required to develop MindsEye resulted in a product that felt dated and unpolished upon arrival. The "sunk cost" fallacy likely kept the studio pushing forward long after the project’s viability had evaporated.
2. The Fragility of Publishing Relationships: The breakdown of the agreement with IO Interactive illustrates how quickly institutional confidence can vanish. Once a publisher senses a project is "toxic" or technically unrecoverable, the partnership is often severed with extreme prejudice.
3. Human Capital and Reputation: The mass layoffs, coupled with the ill-fated decision to prioritize fan events over employee welfare, have significantly tarnished the studio’s reputation as an employer. For the hundreds of developers affected, the loss of their positions is not just a career setback but a traumatic conclusion to years of labor.

What Comes Next?

As of now, the most likely outcome for Build a Rocket Boy is a formal wind-down. With no major publisher and a project that has failed to gain a sustainable player base, the studio’s path toward a successful turnaround is virtually non-existent. The remaining staff members are effectively in a "wrap-up" phase, ensuring that whatever legal and administrative obligations remain are satisfied.

For the wider industry, the fall of Build a Rocket Boy underscores the volatility of the current market. As interest rates fluctuate and investor patience for "next-gen" blockbusters wears thin, studios that fail to deliver a polished, commercially viable product on time face a brutal reckoning. Whether Build a Rocket Boy’s intellectual property is picked up by a larger conglomerate or simply disappears into the annals of development history remains to be seen.

For the people of Edinburgh and the global development community, however, the primary focus remains on the displaced talent, many of whom are now searching for roles in a market that is increasingly wary of over-ambitious, under-resourced ventures.