Dozens of employees and former employees Eye of the Mind The developer of Build a Rocket Boy signed an open letter to studio management, demanding a response to allegations of mistreatment of employees. Along with the Game Workers branch of the Independent Workers of Great Britain, 93 BARB employees and former employees singled out studio executives Mark Gerhard and former GTA lead developer Leslie Benzies, citing various issues.
According to the letter, BARB management allegedly failed to communicate effectively with employees and staff were subjected to “intolerable” overtime in the four months leading up to the launch of MindsEye. The workers also claim that the layoffs were carried out “wrongly” and caused suffering to all employees.
“These and many other issues, some of which have already been made public, have caused pain and stress to your employees,” the letter says. “Our experience at the company has been one of burnout, job insecurity, health issues and the failure of a game that many of us have invested years of our lives into.”
Workers are demanding a public apology, proper compensation and a range of other changes to ensure a fair work environment and change company culture. “Mark Gerhard and Leslie Benzies, you often call your employees “family.” But we ask you to consider, is this really how you treat your own people?” the letter has ended.
BARB was founded by former Rockstar/GTA exec Leslie Benzies several years ago, and its first major release was similar to GTA MindsEye. became one of the worst reviewed games year. Developers have been “working around the clock” since launch in an effort fix many problemsBut There have reportedly been layoffs at the studio. after the game's disastrous release. A couple of top managers left the developer before starting the game.
