Build a Rocket Boy has reportedly experienced another round of layoffs

Build a Rocket Boy (BARB), the studio behind the game MindsEye, has let go of a number of employees, although the exact number hasn't been disclosed. According to a report from Kotaku, 170 employees were dismissed, leaving the company with approximately 80 staff members. Positions affected by the layoffs included those in technical level design, audio design, and quality assurance.

Confirmation of the layoffs impacting the social media team was made by members via the developer's Discord platform.

GamesIndustry.biz has reached out to Build a Rocket Boy to verify the number of employees impacted by these layoffs.

This marks the third instance of job cuts within a year, following the apparent shutdown of BARB France in March, a branch which had opened in Montpellier in 2022.

CEO Mark Gerhard addressed an earlier round of layoffs last month related to the conclusion of BARB's publishing agreement with IOI Partners, indicating more layoffs would be forthcoming.

The latest redundancies, occurring in March, were attributed by Gerhard to "organized espionage and corporate sabotage" around the launch of MindsEye.

"Certain individuals skewed the perception of the product to prevent it from fairly reaching its audience," Gerhard noted. "The game didn’t have a chance to develop its community or undergo the usual iterative process."

As a result, the company was forced into "the difficult and emotional decision of downsizing once more to safeguard its future and ongoing projects."

BARB has since embarked on a "reset" and new development phase for MindsEye aimed at reinvigorating the game, which initially faced backlash due to performance and bug issues.

Back in July 2025, BARB confirmed that post-launch layoffs occurred as part of an effort to optimize the game’s updates and performance. This affected about 300 employees in the UK.