Imagine pouring your heart and soul into a dream project, only to be unceremoniously shown the door amid chaos and broken promises—that's the raw pain facing workers at Build A Rocket Boy right now, and it's sparking a fierce battle for justice in the gaming world.
A powerful open letter, signed by 93 current and former employees, has been released, blasting the studio's top bosses for years of deep-seated disregard and poor treatment of their team. This isn't just a complaint; it's a cry for change, backed by serious moves from the Game Workers branch of the Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB) union. These union members are now launching legal challenges against the company, pointing to botched redundancy procedures—think of redundancies as forced layoffs due to business needs, but done so badly it might break the law.
You can read the full letter on the IWGB's site at https://www.gameworkers.co.uk/blog/, where it's directly aimed at Build A Rocket Boy's executive team. It lays out a laundry list of problems plaguing the workplace, from a shocking absence of clear communication and openness, to grueling overtime that pushes people to their limits, and a total mess in how they've managed the recent job cuts. For beginners in the industry lingo, 'overtime' here means extra unpaid or underpaid hours that lead to exhaustion, often called 'crunch' in game development, where teams burn the midnight oil to hit deadlines.
In a related press release, the IWGB announced that their members are pursuing several lawsuits against Build A Rocket Boy (often abbreviated as BARB). The claims? The company skipped proper consultations before announcing layoffs—a legal must in the UK to discuss alternatives and impacts—and there are multiple instances of unfair firings that could have been avoided with better processes. An IWGB spokesperson mentioned they couldn't share more specifics just yet, as the cases are ongoing. Meanwhile, GamesIndustry.biz reached out to the studio for their side of the story, but no response has come through at the time of writing.
To give some context, Build A Rocket Boy kicked off their big debut with a game called MindsEye, which dropped on June 10 and faced brutal reviews right out of the gate. It scraped by with a dismal Metacritic score of 37 on PC—check it out at https://www.metacritic.com/game/mindseye/. Ouch. Late last June, the studio admitted to cutting jobs (https://www.gamesindustry.biz/mindseye-developer-confirms-layoffs-as-it-focuses-on-updates-and-performance-optimization-for-mindseye), and reports soon followed that about 300 staffers got emails flagging them as 'at risk of redundancy' (https://www.gamesindustry.biz/around-300-build-a-rocket-boy-employees-reportedly-receive-at-risk-of-redundancy-emails-following-layoffs-announcement). That's a huge chunk of the team suddenly facing uncertainty.
But here's where it gets controversial: the open letter doesn't hold back, claiming these layoffs stem directly from the leadership ignoring seasoned advice from their own workers for years, culminating in what they call one of the decade's biggest flops in video game launches. And this is the part most people miss—the human cost behind those failed releases.
Diving deeper, the letter calls out a policy of forcing every employee into eight mandatory overtime hours each week for the four months straight leading up to MindsEye's debut. They did offer some time off in exchange—seven hours back for every eight worked—but many folks are still waiting to use it because bosses kept piling on 'urgent' tasks even post-launch. It's a classic tale of crunch culture in gaming, where the pressure doesn't let up, leading to widespread fatigue and resentment.
The accusations don't stop there. The redundancy rollout was a disaster, according to the signees: staff got fed false info, dismissal letters with incorrect timelines, and were even shuffled into the wrong departments, meaning their performance reviews came from people who barely knew their work. These slip-ups, they argue, might have unfairly booted out dozens of dedicated team members. For those new to employment law, this mishandling could violate UK regulations that demand fair, transparent processes to protect workers' rights.
Wrapping up on a poignant note, the letter paints a picture of life at the company as a grind of exhaustion, constant job worries, health breakdowns, and the heartbreak of seeing a passion project fail after years of investment. It urges BARB to turn things around, with CEOs stepping back to let the talented survivors steer the ship. Their wishlist? A heartfelt public apology from the leaders, choices for those still on notice to either serve out their time or get paid instead, real steps to fix the work environment and officially recognize the IWGB union, plus using trusted outside experts for any future layoffs to keep it above board.
Scott Alsworth, an IWGB rep, explained why the 93 signers stayed anonymous: they're scared of backlash from BARB or facing union-busting biases when job-hunting elsewhere in the cutthroat games industry. That said, the press release did name two ex-employees willing to go public.
Isaac Hudd, an audio engineer who worked there, shared his take: 'From what I saw, Build A Rocket Boy cared little about employee wellness. Talented, dedicated devs felt exploited and tossed aside, even as the company issued empty words about support. Bad calls from the top led to that lackluster launch and endless struggles for everyone involved. I've held colleagues' hands through this redundancy nightmare, and it's devastating. I'll keep raising my voice until our industry starts valuing people properly.'
Ben Newbon, another former staffer, didn't mince words either: 'The cold indifference from management at Build A Rocket Boy is downright shocking. Long before MindsEye bombed, teams endured months of intense crunch, sparking severe mental health crises and even physical ailments on top of the usual burnout. Leaders won't own up to the game's shortcomings; they point fingers at saboteurs or outsiders, as if lone wolves could tank it. Their overconfidence in dodging accountability during development and cuts has driven many of us—past and present—to fight back.'
Spring McparlinJones, who chairs the IWGB Game Workers union (they're also backing the fresh union at ZA/UM after its own drama—see https://www.gamesindustry.biz/after-layoffs-cancellations-and-controversy-zaum-uk-staff-unionise-as-the-workers-alliance), weighed in strongly: 'What's happened to Build A Rocket Boy's workers over the last year is appalling. They've been demeaned, shortchanged, and played by the very company they poured their lives into. Yet, they stuck together, building trust to demand fairness. It's chilling to recall how, a decade back, execs like Leslie Benzies and Mark Gerhard could mistreat staff without a slap on the wrist. But times have changed—I'm thrilled to see unions holding BARB's leaders accountable. This is a wake-up call to the industry: it's not the lawless frontier anymore. Ignore labor laws, and we'll step in to enforce them.'
A quick backstory: Build A Rocket Boy started in 2018, founded by Leslie Benzies, the ex-head of Rockstar North who shaped massive hits before exiting in 2016 post-Grand Theft Auto 5. MindsEye marked their first release, meant to kick off a sprawling universe. In a May chat with GamesIndustry.biz (https://www.gamesindustry.biz/the-big-leslie-benzies-interview-mindseye-everywhere-and-the-double-edged-sword-of-gta), Benzies hyped it as the core story piece, teasing flashbacks 10,000 years and future expansions to hook players with mysteries.
Post-launch, they promised multiplayer modes and a revival of their Everywhere UGC platform, but so far, it's just been tweaks for better performance and a few extra missions. In an August GamesIndustry.biz interview (https://www.gamesindustry.biz/with-the-waves-of-layoffs-the-way-that-people-are-overworked-everyone-agrees-that-there-is-a-systemic-problem), McparlinJones slammed the broader games sector: 'Ask anyone in the field—they'll tell you the current setup is unsustainable. With endless layoffs and overwork, it's clear there's a deep-rooted issue, but solutions feel out of reach.'
Now, let's stir the pot a bit: is this just one studio's mess, or a symptom of bigger problems in gaming where execs prioritize profits over people? Some might argue tough launches demand sacrifices, but at what cost to mental health and fairness? What do you think—should unions like IWGB have even more power to shake up these giants, or does that risk stifling creativity? Drop your thoughts in the comments; I'd love to hear if you've seen similar stories or if this changes how you view the industry.
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