MindsEye developer Build a Rocket Boy (BARB) appears to have undergone another round of layoffs, and these latest cuts could be fatal, as multiple people have indicated that all remaining employees are being let go.
BARB has been struggling since the release of its startlingly bad (yet still strangely entertaining) action-thriller MindsEye in 2025, a situation made outright bizarre by the studio’s repeated claims that it was the victim of a sabotage campaign. The insistence on that narrative seemed to drive a wedge between BARB and original MindsEye publisher IO Interactive, which ultimately washed its hands of the whole thing; updates continued to flow, including an execrable expansion that promised (and utterly failed to deliver) “evidence of the sabotage” that brought MindsEye low, but so did multiple rounds of layoffs and employee allegations of gross mismanagement and unauthorized employee surveillance.
Taken altogether, and particularly given the unforgiving nature of the videogame industry, a bad ending for BARB seemed inevitable, and that point may now have been reached.
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“Unfortunately, along with the rest of my colleagues at Build a Rocket Boy, I am facing redundancy and now looking for a new opportunity,” lead weapon and prop artist Adam Ridsdale wrote on LinkedIn.
Principal talent acquisition partner Dan Hawkins shared a similar message, writing, “With a very heavy heart I raise my green banner, along with the rest of my colleagues at Build a Rocket Boy. I am ‘Open to Work’ actively looking for a new adventure.” Hawkins added that he “will be seeing BARB through till the very end, helping wrap things up here in the HR department,” suggesting that “the end” is at hand.
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Senior VFX artist Jason Waller also pointed to a studio closure: “Along with everybody else left at Barb my role is being made redundant.” Numerous other employees have also reported their layoffs, without mentioning the wider impact of the cuts, including Rockstar veteran Stuart Ross, who served as head of audio at BARB.
Build a Rocket Boy hasn’t made any sort of public statement on the reported shutdown, but it certainly looks like it may have finally reached the end of the line. I’ve reached out to the studio for comment and will update if I receive a reply.