Update: Build a Rocket Boy provided the following statement to RPS:
Each of our former team members has contributed passion, creativity, and hard work to our games and our studio. Breaking up with people is never easy and we were deeply saddened by this decision. We did not expect that after launch we would have to reduce staff, but we approached this process carefully and transparently, fulfilling all our obligations. We listen closely to feedback from former employees and strive to learn and grow from it.
Original story continues below:
After a failed launch MindsEye and the subsequent firings of Build A Rocket Boy's developers, 93 current and former studio employees signed an open letter demanding an apology, while accusing Build A Rocket Boy's senior management of “consistently mishandling the downsizing process” and imposing “unbearable levels of overtime” during the game's launch.
Letter names Build A Rocket Boy co-CEO Mark Gerhard and MindsEye director Leslie Benzies by name. Independent Workers UK union, which announced that workers would also file lawsuits against the studio. Current and former employees accuse studio management of “long-standing disrespect and abuse” and claim that an estimated 250 to 300 employees were fired as part of the layoffs at Build a Rocket Boy still. “These terminations occurred because you repeatedly refused to listen to the decades of experience of your employees, resulting in the launch of one of the worst video games of the last decade,” the letter said.
He goes on to make specific allegations on a number of issues, including the alleged mishandling of the dismissals. “We believe that you have consistently mishandled the termination process, causing confusion and anxiety among all staff,” the letter said. “Employees were given misinformation, given termination notices with incorrect notice periods, and placed on the wrong teams so that their performance was evaluated by the wrong people. These and other errors could potentially lead to the wrongful termination of dozens of employees.”
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Build a Rocket Boy executives are also accused of mandating eight hours of mandatory overtime per week for every employee in the four months leading up to Mindseye's launch, with employees then allegedly struggling to take time off instead of the time they were given due to requests to continue diligently completing “high-priority” work that continued after the game's launch. The latter also cites a lack of transparency and communication from studio management.
“Our experiences at the company have been one of burnout, job insecurity, health issues, and the failure of a game that many of us have invested years of our lives in,” current and former employees write. They are calling on Build a Rocket Boy to issue a public apology, give staff notified of redundancies the opportunity to either serve the notice period or receive payment in lieu of notice, and commit to using “official external partners” for any future redundancies. “Concerted, meaningful and documented efforts to improve conditions and processes within the company, including recognition of the IWGB as a union,” completes the list.
I've reached out to the publishers of IO Interactive Build a Rocket Boy and Mindseye for comment.
