What is known about the scandal surrounding Build a Rocket Boy, the studio behind the disastrous MindsEye
MindsEye was a game developed by Leslie Benzies, the producer of GTA 5. However, it failed to replicate its success, drawing negative reviews from the press and users. The story didn't end there; layoffs at the studio, internal investigations, and finger-pointing soon followed. Our article explores the intrigues and scandals surrounding the Build a Rocket Boy team.
MindsEye in a Nutshell
Leslie Benzies worked on the GTA series starting with the third game. In 2016, he left Rockstar, and a year later, he founded several new studios. The main one, Build a Rocket Boy, was developing the ambitious project Everywhere. It was intended to be not just a game, but a large platform in the spirit of Roblox, where anyone could find entertainment they liked. A GTA-like MindsEye was planned to be part of this. However, after the first closed tests, Everywhere disappeared from the media.
MindsEye was released on June 10, 2025, as an independent game and disappointed almost everyone. A boring story, mediocre gameplay, ridiculous limitations within missions, technical flaws—it's hard to find a single reason to see it through to the end. Unsurprisingly, it turned out to be one of the lowest-rated games of the year.
Attempts to justify MindsEye's failure
Reports of the game's poor performance surfaced even before its release. At the time, Build a Rocket Boy co-director Mark Gerhard blamed the industry press, calling them corrupt. There were hints that Rockstar was taking revenge on a former employee. There were also rumors of paid comments and spambot attacks. This all sounds especially ridiculous now, as anyone can personally examine MindsEye and see the project's current state.
In July, just under a month after the release, mass layoffs began at Build a Rocket Boy. Leslie Benzies himself gave the official reason: restructuring and a fight against external and internal saboteurs. According to him, it appears that those who worked at his studio are to blame for the failure. A relaunch of MindsEye was announced at the same time. However, details are still unclear.
Actor Alex Hernandez, who played the main character in MindsEye, speaks positively about working with the MindsEye team. The negative reaction from players came as an unpleasant surprise. He was outraged that he was being criticized on social media for the gameplay and technical state of the project, which he had nothing to do with. In the first few days, the actor even considered completely cutting off all collaboration with the gaming industry, but after a while, he decided it was time to simply move on.
At the same time, Hernandez spoke out against releasing games in an unfinished state. He was unpleasantly surprised when he saw the state of MindsEye upon release. "Basically, customers were offered to participate in a beta test." "But in this case, access to the project should be free or provided at a reduced price," the actor stated.
As a reminder, he previously played Lincoln Clay, the protagonist of Mafia 3.
[h]Former Build a Rocket Boy Employees Strike Back
In October, 93 former employees of Build a Rocket Boy signed an open letter criticizing the studio's management, Mark Gerhard and Leslie Benzies. They alleged that employees were forced to work overtime and comply with all demands, including the most absurd ones, while those who disagreed were simply silenced. But even many of those who agreed to all the terms ultimately found themselves on the street, with the layoffs carried out in violation of the law. According to the letter's authors, the failure of MindsEye is the fault of Build a Rocket Boy studio management, who refused to listen to professionals.
Furthermore, the former employees made the following demands:
- a public apology for the mistreatment of staff;
- payment of monetary compensation to all dismissed employees;
- offer those who received notice of layoffs a choice between monetary compensation and working the required period;
- documentation and implementation of measures to improve working conditions;
- provision of a guarantee that all future layoffs will be carried out with the participation of official external partners to avoid unfair treatment of employees.
It has also been reported that the IWGB game developers' union has supported the dismissed developers from Build a Rocket Boy. Through this organization, they are filing lawsuits against Benzies and Gerhard.
Journalists became interested in the situation, and former Build a Rocket Boy employees shared their perspective. They stated that management lacked a clear vision.An understanding of what they wanted Everywhere and MindsEye to be. Gerhard and Benzies were constantly making strange decisions and making major changes to the games without consulting the developers themselves. Any objections were ignored or even ridiculed. All of Leslie's orders had to be followed first and foremost, requiring developers to quit their day jobs to follow them. Stability was out of the question under such conditions.
Many employees understood that MindsEye wouldn't be ready for release by June 10th. However, they were shocked to hear Benzies's hints of a conspiracy within the studio and development sabotage. All these years, people had been literally following his direct orders.
This situation seems to be the basis for a conflict that could flare up again in the near future. We are monitoring the situation and will update you if any new information emerges.
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