Despite a 500-strong team and years of development, MindsEye’s debut title falters — now, jobs hang in the balance.
Following the release of its highly anticipated debut game, MindsEye, the company has formally declared layoffs throughout the whole organization. However, it’s yet unclear how many people will be laid off. Although the amount was first deemed considerable in reports, Build A Rocket Boy did not release any specific numbers. According to insiders, the number may surpass 100 workers, though, because UK legislation requires a consultation process if more than 100 layoffs are anticipated.
The studio, which employs about 500 people—300 of whom are based in the UK, and the other 200 are dispersed throughout the world—is currently in chaos. The ongoing 90-day consultation period was mentioned by one anonymous source with knowledge of UK employment law, although this has simply served to increase speculation. Despite no concrete confirmation, this necessity suggests widespread cuts.
A corporation that appeared ready to launch a big entry into the gaming sector has taken an unexpected turn. Constructed from the ground up with the goal of using MindsEye to showcase a new, unique engine, the size of the crew alone suggested big expectations. However, it’s becoming evident that expectations were not fulfilled as the dust settles.
MindsEye has received fewer than favorable reviews. Although studios frequently have trouble with their first releases, MindsEye’s backlash appears to be caused by more than just a poor response. The source remarked, “I don’t like to see people homeless or fired with no livelihood, that’s a human condition,” “But on the other side of things, this was atrocious.”
The quality of the game is not the only thing that has been criticized. One of the main complaints has been that the game was sold at $60. Many people feel deceived and contend that you have an obligation to produce if you’re costing so much. “At some point, people do have to take responsibility,” they noted, expressing frustration that it’s often lower-level employees who are sacrificed for decisions made at the top.
Two senior executives departed the company a week prior to the game’s release, which fueled the flames. Some saw this move as a warning sign or, worse, desertion, drawing analogies to earlier well-known studio exits. The insider stated, “I prefer going down with the ship,” “Those executives make those decisions that lead to a terrible game. Go down with the failure that it is.”
It’s unclear if these departures were due to internal conflict or just plain foresight. However, some doubt whether 500 workers were really needed to build the game in the first place, which raises concerns about accountability. The commentator went on to say, “You might want to trim some fat.” “Who’s really to blame? It’s a mix. There are people who simply didn’t do a good job, and executives who made the decisions.”
Both users and critics have given the game harsh criticism. However, it has been admitted that “some ideas there” existed. To put it another way, it lacked polish, consistency, and the required refinement, yet it wasn’t a complete failure. The insider said, “Even a simple delay of a year could’ve helped it”, and “The Metacritic score could’ve jumped from 38 to maybe 60”.
However, postponing a game is expensive, and that might not have been possible. But the problems are deeper. “The executives either remained silent or actually left the company because the employees weren’t good enough.” The studio was left vulnerable by that double failure, and its consequences are now visible.
The bigger problem in the sector is that individuals who are actually accountable frequently escape consequences. The source complained, “They don’t even recognize that it was them in the first place” and “They push the blame to anybody but themselves, and they do it again anyway. Nobody wins.”
People are already comparing MindsEye’s story to previous flops like Gollum and Fast & Furious Crossroads, when entire companies shut down after creating highly criticized titles. Many of the developers in those instances were inexperienced, with some having just graduated from college. Here, that wasn’t the case. “This game had experience behind it, people who’d worked on GTA even. That’s why it’s even more disappointing”.
Not only was the reception poor, but it was humiliating. Influencers who were paid to play it publicly chuckled during streams, and refunds were given on sites like PlayStation. The source said, “That just looks bad on everybody”, and “You could get all the views in the world, but nobody’s buying the game from that”.
The sales numbers point to a much worse scenario. Reviews were harsh, and many just didn’t give a damn. “You look at the numbers on Steam, you look at the refunds. The broader world just didn’t buy the game”. The game was simply not well-received by the public. Perhaps the worst reality is that a game that required years of development and a large team was received with overwhelming indifference.
Some others think that this was never the original plan. The insider speculated, “I think they wanted to build an engine, and they had to quickly make a weird pseudo game inside of it”, and the outcome? A flawed product that was unable to conceal its hasty creation.
Layoffs are now a reality. It’s a sad but possibly unavoidable conclusion with so many livelihoods on the line. The source said, “You cannot get away with that nowadays”. It remains to be seen if the remaining employees can save the studio’s future. For the time being, MindsEye serves as an expensive reminder of how even the biggest teams can fail due to ambition without accountability and execution.
