MindsEye developer Build a Rocket Boy (BARB) has announced new studio layoffs, its second round of cuts since eliminating an estimated 100 roles last June. Company co-CEO Mark Gerhard shared the “deeply painful” decision in a post on LinkedIn. While the first half of Gerhard’s statement reads as a grateful and touching tribute to BARB’s hardworking developers, the tone shifts halfway as he alleges that “organized espionage and corporate sabotage” contributed to MindsEye‘s critical and commercial failure.
“Today we are announcing a further number of redundancies at the studio. This is a deeply painful decision. The people leaving our team have invested enormous talent, passion and long hours into building what we believe in. Letting colleagues go is never something any leader wants to do, and I know the impact this will have on individuals, families and our wider community.
“As leaders we take responsibility for the outcomes of our projects and the decisions that follow. At the same time, the launch period was affected by factors beyond normal operation challenges and a competitive environment.”
Statement focus then shifts from grateful employee recognition to grandiose speculation:
“Over the past months we have been working with external partners and legal advisors to investigate the criminal activity that took place around our launch. That work has taken far longer than expected, but it has now resulted in overwhelming evidence of organized espionage and corporate sabotage affecting MindsEye. Because this matter is moving toward prosecution, we cannot share the full details yet.”
BARB co-CEO alleges criminal interference thwarted ‘MindsEye’ launch
Build a Rocket Boy, formed in 2016 by former Rockstar North exec Leslie Benzies, isn’t new to espionage accusations, either. In late May 2025 — about two weeks shy of MindsEye‘s debut — Gerhard engaged with a user in the game’s Discord who suggested some gamers’ negative opinions of early gameplay footage were funded by an unnamed third party. “Do you think that all the people who reacted negatively were financed by someone?” Gerhard replied, “100%,” later adding that it “doesn’t take much to guess who.”
In an internal meeting last month, Gerhard said he had “caught” those responsible for the game’s underwhelming launch. According to the BARB co-CEO, an unnamed but reportedly “very big American company” allegedly paid UK-based company Ritual Network more than $1.1 million in 2025 to derail MindsEye‘s launch. In an audio recording obtained by Insider Gaming, Gerhard told those in attendance that those responsible “will all be served in person, criminal complaints, shortly,” and that the criminal charges are for “espionage, sabotage, and criminal interference.”
Studio leaders have yet to confirm how many roles will be affected by the latest redundancies. At the time of writing, Build a Rocket Boy’s minimalistic website still shows a “Join Us” link that directs readers to a career portal, though no open roles are shown.
