Edinburgh-based company sees 36 further job losses following criticism of MindsEye launch.
Edinburgh-based game development company Build a Rocket Boy (BARB) has fallen into administration, resulting in a further 36 job losses. Administrators from Opus Restructuring were appointed to the company last week. BARB was launched in October 2018 by Leslie Benzies, who was the main producer of the Grand Theft Auto series from the third instalment through GTA V.
The administration follows significant job cuts nearly a year ago, when the company reduced between 250 and 300 roles, with around 150 redundancies made in Scotland. This comes after the highly anticipated release of its first project, the game MindsEye, which hit the shelves in June last year.
MindsEye’s release was met with major criticism, with gamers describing the launch as “disastrous” due to being marred by technical issues. Hype for the sci-fi action-adventure game had grown for three years following a teaser released at Gamescom 2022.
Concerns were raised prior to the game’s launch, as advance review codes, which are standard practice in the industry, were not issued. Additionally, BARB’s chief legal officer and chief financial officer both resigned in the week leading up to the release.
Last year, an open letter signed by 93 current and former employees was issued by the Game Workers Branch of the Independent Workers of Great Britain. The letter claimed that the company’s refusal to listen resulted in “one of the worst video game launches this decade.”
Employees alleged that in the months leading up to MindsEye’s launch, Mr. Benzies and co-CEO Mark Gerhard imposed mandatory eight hours of overtime per week for all staff. Time off in lieu was allegedly promised but had not been taken due to “high priority” work still taking place after the game’s release. Staff reported suffering burnout, job insecurity, and health issues whilst working on the game.
The CEOs were also criticised for their “lack of transparency and communication,” which allegedly often resulted in “radical changes” without input from staff.
The company said last year that it did not anticipate having to make redundancies after the game was released, and that Mr. Benzies and the senior management team took full responsibility for the initial launch.
In a statement, BARB said: “The version of the game that was released did not reflect the experience our community deserved.” The company added that since then, they have been “fully committed to updating, improving, and ultimately delivering MindsEye as the game we always envisioned – and the one players are excited to play.” BARB further stated: “As many have seen, we’ve rolled out numerous updates, continue to refine performance and address bugs, and are preparing significant combat and gameplay enhancements alongside fresh new content coming soon.”
Build a Rocket Boy has been contacted for comment on the administration.
