Developers of MindsEye Demand Accountability from Build A Rocket Boy Leadership

It’s been four months since the disastrous launch of MindsEye, and tensions at the studio, Build A Rocket Boy, continue to escalate. Following a significant wave of layoffs, current and former developers sought assistance from the Independent Workers of Great Britain union and penned an open letter to the company’s leadership.

In their letter, the employees of Build A Rocket Boy express their grievances regarding harsh working conditions and problematic management, holding it responsible for the current situation. They argue that studio leaders consistently ignored the feedback and insights of seasoned professionals, which ultimately led to one of the worst releases in recent memory. Poor communication, lack of transparency, overwork, and subsequent layoffs have compelled developers to advocate for their rights.

Consequently, the employees of Build A Rocket Boy demanded a public apology from the management, appropriate compensation for those laid off, and the involvement of external partners to help normalize operations.

In their message, the current and former staff of Build A Rocket Boy (BARB) in collaboration with the Game Workers section of the Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB) reached out to you (the studio heads) to highlight the long-standing disrespect and harsh treatment of developers. For years, you’ve expected us to cater to your every whim, silencing or firing those who disagreed. It is estimated that a majority of the company’s 250–300 UK employees have lost their livelihoods. These layoffs occurred due to your repeated refusal to heed the longstanding experiences of your staff, resulting in one of the worst game releases of the past decade.

Here are just a few of the numerous issues we’ve faced under your management:

Lack of transparency and communication. You have consistently struggled to establish effective communication with the employees on whose expertise the company relies. Information has been scarce and vague, and you frequently implemented radical changes to our work without consulting those affected.

Unbearable levels of overtime. Four months before the launch of MindsEye, you instituted a mandatory requirement for each employee to work an additional eight hours per week. While you promised compensation in the form of paid time off, many have yet to utilize this entitlement due to your ongoing demands for additional «high-priority» work even after the game was released.

Confusing layoff processes. We believe that you consistently made errors during layoffs, resulting in confusion and stress for all employees. Staff received incorrect information, were given termination notices with erroneous timelines, and were mistakenly assigned to different teams, leading to miscalculations in their work evaluations. These and other mistakes have potentially resulted in the wrongful termination of dozens of employees.

These and many other issues, some of which are now public knowledge, have caused pain and stress for your staff. Working at the company has led to burnout, job insecurity, health issues, and the failure of a game that many of us dedicated years of our lives to. Build A Rocket Boy must undergo change. Management needs to step back and allow the skilled professionals who remain to chart the studio’s future. We demand:

1. A public apology for the harsh treatment of employees and proper compensation for those laid off;
2. Options for remaining employees who received layoff notifications to either work through their notice period or receive compensation;
3. Coordinated, meaningful, and documented efforts to improve working conditions and processes within the company, including recognition of the IWGB union;
4. Engagement of official external partners to address any issues related to future layoffs and to prevent unfair treatment of workers.

Mark Gerhard and Leslie Benzies, you frequently refer to your employees as “family,” but we urge you to reflect: do you truly treat your loved ones this way?

Sincerely, 93 current and former employees of Build A Rocket Boy | IWGB Game Workers.

Whether this will lead to any positive change remains to be seen. The game MindsEye launched on June 10 for PC (Steam, Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series without a Russian localization, receiving only 38% positive reviews on Valve and a rating of “Trash” on StopGame.ru.