Ex-GTA developer's studio faces closure after debut game flopped
Build A Rocket Boy, founded by Leslie Benzies, has gone into administration after its debut game flopped.
Ex-GTA developer's studio faces closure after debut game flopped
MindsEye, released in June 2025, was Build A Rocket Boy's debut game
A video game studio founded by a former senior Grand Theft Auto developer is now facing closure 15 months after the disastrous launch of its first game.
Edinburgh-based Build A Rocket Boy (Barb) released MindsEye in June 2025, and it was met with a wave of poor reviews and complaints from players, with some describing it as "the worst game" of the year.
Former employees said the game’s development was chaotic and accused the studio’s boss, Leslie Benzies, of mismanaging the company.
Barb has since entered administration, a process that could lead to the business being sold to a new owner or shut down.
Benzies founded Barb in 2016, the same year he left Grand Theft Auto creator Rockstar Games after a legal dispute over unpaid royalties.
The studio initially worked on Everywhere, which was meant to be a multiplayer role-playing game set in a futuristic city, before shifting its attention to the action-adventure title MindsEye.
Former staff had previously told BBC Newsbeat that the development process had "no coherent direction" and said senior managers ignored their concerns.
After the game’s troubled launch, between 250 and 300 staff members were made redundant.
Just before that, during an all-staff call, Benzies claimed that "internal and external" forces had worked together to obstruct MindsEye’s release, and he promised to identify "saboteurs" inside the company.
When Newsbeat put this to Barb, the company issued a statement saying: "Leslie and the entire senior management team take full responsibility for the initial launch [of MindsEye].
"The version of the game that was released did not reflect the experience our community deserved."
Since launch, the company has been unable to draw a larger audience to the game despite a series of fixes and content updates.
Following additional layoffs, reports last week indicated that the remaining employees at the studio had also been dismissed.
Barb’s latest accounts, covering the period up to September 2025, show a £36.2m loss and £10.5m in net assets.
Grand Theft Auto made him a legend. His latest game was a disaster