Build a Rocket Boy, the troubled developer behind MindsEye, one of the most monumental gaming flops of all time, has reportedly made more layoffs amid an ongoing downturn. In recent days, the team pushed out the Blacklisted ‘DLC’, a new in-game mission that was supposed to be a cryptic uncovering of those trying to sabotage BARB and MindsEye.
Per reports, this is the third wave of redundancies for BARB, which recently suggested a resurgence was in the books for MindsEye, one of the worst-rated games ever made. It has been claimed that up to 170 employees have been impacted, which leaves BARB teetering dangerously on the edge of boasting a skeleton crew.
Can Build a Rocket Boy Ever Recover?
Build a Rocket Boy’s fortunes have gone from bad to worse over the last couple of years. MindsEye wasn’t the success it was hoping for, and the game’s launch was marred by incredibly negative reviews.
I played MindsEye just a few weeks back and generally enjoyed the game, but the reputation of the studio has been hampered by so much bad press that a positive review was a drop in the ocean of disruption.
In a new report from Kotaku, it was claimed that as many as 170 employees were impacted by another round of layoffs at BARB. On LinkedIn, dozens of former employees lamented a restructuring that knocked out multiple departments. Earlier this year, BARB closed an entire studio, after making redundant vast swathes of workers.
Mark Gerhard, the co-CEO of the company alongside Leslie Benzies of Rockstar fame, has been busy condemning the world and everyone in it. He remains adamant that BARB was targeted in a million-dollar smear campaign perpetrated by an influencer management agency, and that’s what the core of Blacklisted, the new ‘DLC’, was supposed to be about.
It’s one of the strangest and most convoluted stories in recent years, and this latest chapter could represent the final nail in the coffin for Build a Rocket Boy.
Do you think BARB can ever recover? Let us know your thoughts on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
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Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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