Build a Rocket Boy Faces Another Round of Staff Cuts Amid 'Flop' DLC Release

The ambitious dream of a "GTA-killer" is rapidly colliding with a harsh financial reality. Build a Rocket Boy, the studio founded by former Rockstar North head Leslie Benzies, is reportedly undergoing yet another devastating round of layoffs following the disastrous launch of its latest content. What was once positioned as the next frontier of open-world gaming is now struggling to keep its lights on as the workforce evaporates and player interest hits an all-time low.

Why this matters: The massive contraction of a studio led by one of the industry's most successful veterans signals a significant shift in how high-budget "metaverse" projects are being valued by investors and the gaming public alike. For a studio that once boasted a headcount of over 800 people, the current trajectory suggests a fight for basic survival rather than industry dominance.

Layoffs Continue as Build a Rocket Boy Struggles

Reports from Kotaku indicate that Build a Rocket Boy is currently letting go of up to 170 employees. This isn't an isolated incident but rather the third major wave of cuts to hit the developer in a very short span of time. The studio previously slashed its workforce in June 2025 and again in March of the same year. The sheer frequency of these cuts paints a picture of a company in a state of constant, desperate restructuring.

The news broke through the community's most direct channels. Displaced workers took to LinkedIn to share their sudden job losses, while the official MindsEye Discord became a somber space where community members shared their own experiences of being let go. This grassroots confirmation of the layoffs highlights a lack of internal stability that has plagued the project since its inception. When a studio loses nearly 200 people in a single sweep, the institutional knowledge required to finish a project as complex as "Everywhere" begins to vanish.

The scale of the reduction is staggering. At its peak, the studio was a titan, employing over 800 developers across multiple locations. However, co-CEO Mark Gerhard previously stated in a March interview that the goal was to streamline the workforce down to approximately 100 core staff. Moving from 800 to 100 isn't just "trimming the fat"—it is a total reimagining of what the studio is capable of producing. It suggests that the grand, sweeping vision Leslie Benzies originally pitched may no longer be feasible under current financial constraints.

MindsEye DLC Tanks on Steam Platforms

The catalyst for this latest round of misery appears to be the performance of the MindsEye DLC, titled "Blacklisted." Despite the pedigree of the leadership team, the content was critically panned upon arrival. Reviewers and players alike described the experience as a "flop," noting that the DLC felt like a short, dull mission that lacked the charm or polish of the base game. When players ask if the new content is Worth It, the answer from the community has been a resounding negative.

The data paints an even bleaker picture than the reviews. On Steam, the game’s performance metrics have cratered. Today, the peak concurrent player count for the game reached a staggering low of just 11 players. For a project backed by millions in investment and hundreds of developers, having fewer players than a local recreational basketball team is a catastrophic failure. This lack of engagement makes the prospect of future content updates feel increasingly unlikely.

Even the most dedicated fans are finding it hard to stay engaged. Discussions regarding the Best Build for the DLC's protagonist are non-existent because the gameplay lacks the depth to support such experimentation. The "Blacklisted" mission was intended to be a showcase for the studio's cinematic capabilities, but instead, it served as a reminder of how far the project has drifted from its original hype. The release date for future chapters is now a giant question mark as the studio pivots to damage control.

Mark Gerhard Leads Studio Workforce Reduction

The pattern of layoffs occurring immediately after major content releases is a red flag for industry analysts. It suggests that Build a Rocket Boy is operating on a "milestone-to-milestone" basis, where staff are kept on just long enough to push a product out the door before being discarded to save costs. This cycle of expansion and contraction is often a symptom of extreme financial instability and a lack of long-term funding security.

Mark Gerhard’s vision of a 100-person "lean" studio might be a necessity, but it raises questions about the scope of the "Everywhere" platform. If the studio continues to struggle with the MindsEye DLC, the primary project—a massive, user-generated content hub—may never see the light of day in its intended form. The loss of nearly 700 staff members over the course of a year is a brain drain that few companies can recover from, especially when the remaining team is tasked with maintaining a live-service ecosystem.

The community reaction has shifted from excitement to mourning. On Discord, players who were once eager for the MindsEye DLC Release Date are now simply asking if the servers will stay online. The optimism that surrounded Leslie Benzies’ departure from Rockstar has been replaced by the reality of independent development at a massive scale. Without a significant influx of players or a complete pivot in strategy, the studio's future looks increasingly fragile.

Future Uncertainty for Build a Rocket Boy

The continuous reduction in staff suggests that the operational costs of the studio are still far outstripping its revenue. With only a handful of players active on Steam, the monetization potential of the current build is virtually zero. This creates a "death spiral" where the studio cannot afford the talent needed to fix the game, leading to even fewer players and further budget cuts. The pattern of repeated layoffs highlights significant instability within the company's structure that may be too deep to repair.

Build a Rocket Boy will likely attempt to consolidate its remaining resources into a single, final push for the "Everywhere" platform, but the bridge to get there is burning. The failure of the MindsEye DLC to gain any traction has robbed the studio of the momentum it desperately needed. As the industry watches, the story of this studio is becoming a cautionary tale about the dangers of over-scoping and the volatility of modern game development.

The studio will likely pivot to a skeleton-crew maintenance mode for its existing assets while seeking a buyer or a massive new investment to stay afloat. Expect the "Everywhere" platform to be significantly scaled back in features as the 100-person team focuses on core stability over ambitious new content. Given the current player metrics, a transition to a completely different business model or a total project reboot is the only path left to avoid a total shutdown.