Build a Rocket Boy’s MindsEye studio is on the verge of folding, after announcing a wave of layoffs that left more than 150 staffers without jobs.
Redundancy notices pile up
LinkedIn posts from affected employees surfaced on September 16 2026. Release manager Michaela Emslie wrote that she and several teammates had just received redundancy notices. Principal Talent Acquisition Partner Dan Hawkins echoed the sentiment, stating that he would be “seeing BARB through till the very end,” and hinting that a closure was imminent.
From “Roblox for adults” to a buggy mess
Former Rockstar North president Leslie Benzies had originally pitched MindsEye’s Everywhere platform as a “Roblox for adults,” aiming to fuel user‑generated content. The idea never fully materialised. Despite the failure, the team kept polishing the single‑player experience and added features like multiplayer racing. In June 2025, the live launch was met with harsh criticism; reviewers called it one of the worst games that year, citing bleeding bugs and unplayable gameplay.
Failed relaunch and industry backlash
The studio’s attempt to revive the title with the Blacklisted update was short‑lived; within months, another round of layoffs cut the workforce by more than 150 employees. Take‑Two CEO Strauss Zelnick publicly mocked the effort as a futile attempt to copy GTA. With the anticipated release of GTA 6, the paucity of new content left players disengaged, raising doubts that the studio would survive.
On March 16 2026, IO Interactive and Build a Rocket Boy officially ended their publishing partnership for MindsEye, a move seen as a warning sign. As of now, MindsEye has not issued any statement regarding the layoffs or confirming a full shutdown.
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