MindsEye Developer Seemingly Shutting Down after New Round of Layoffs

Published Sep 16, 2026, 10:17 AM EDT Multiple developers have shared on social media that they've been let go by Build a Rocket Boy Image: Build a Rocket Boy/IO Interactive Sign in to your Polygon.com account Over a year after MindsEye's disastrous launch, its developer appears to be going through another round of layoffs. Based on social media posts from former Build a Rocket Boy employees, it's possible the studio is getting shut down entirely. "With a very heavy heart I raise my green banner, along with the rest of my colleagues at Build a Rocket Boy," Principal talent acquisition partner Dan Hawkins said on LinkedIn Wednesday, referring to the green #OpentoWork banner on his profile image. "I will be seeing BARB through till the very end, helping wrap things up here in the HR department," he said, implying Build a Rocket Boy is imminently shutting down. Lead 3D weapon/prop artist Adam Ridsdale echoed that, saying, "Unfortunately, along with the rest of my colleagues at Build a Rocket Boy, I am facing redundancy and now looking for a new opportunity." "After four years at Build a Rocket Boy, I’ve unfortunately been given my redundancy notice along with some of my fellow colleagues," release manager Michaela Emslie said. At the time of this writing, Build a Rocket Boy has not yet publicly commented on the extent of the layoffs at the studio. Polygon has reached out to Build a Rocket Boy for clarification. We will update this article accordingly. MindsEye had a very rough launch in June 2025 that led to layoffs and its status as one of the worst games of 2025. It received a huge update earlier in 2026 ahead of another round of layoffs amid allegations of "espionage and corporate sabotage" made by its studio's totally normal co-CEO. That evidence of "sabotage" then became the basis for MindsEye's pretty terrible DLC. Build a Rocket Boy staff then sued the studio over privacy violations and protested outside the studio in July as it held an expenses-paid playtest for fans.