When former Rockstar North head Leslie Benzies announced his new studio, Build A Rocket Boy (BARB), it was considered a major event in the gaming industry. One of the creators of the "Grand Theft Auto" series, Benzies began working on a massive project, “Everywhere”, alongside several former colleagues, promising to revolutionize the gaming world.
However, the studio faces a very different picture today: layoffs are taking place, and great uncertainty prevails within the studio.
Big Promises, Big Money
Build A Rocket Boy has never been an ordinary startup. Since its founding, the studio has managed to attract hundreds of millions of dollars in funding from investors, approximately $420 million. That is an astronomical figure for a studio that did not even have a finished game.
The company’s main project, Everywhere, was described not simply as a game, but as a massive platform where users could create their own content, socialize, and experience various games. In addition, the studio was developing MindsEye, a high-budget AAA, photorealistic action-adventure game within the platform.
The Cold Reality of Layoffs
News that Build A Rocket Boy was laying off part of its staff in February 2024 sparked discussion across the gaming industry. Even this "super-studio", which had offices in Edinburgh, Budapest, and France and employed more than 400 people, was not immune to the economic downturn in the global gaming industry.
The layoffs mainly affected the QA and Art departments. This usually happens when a project has come to an end or when there is a drastic change in strategy. However, Everywhere still has not become fully accessible to the general public.
So, What Exactly Is "Everywhere"?
One of the studio’s biggest challenges is explaining what Everywhere actually is. Is it Roblox? Fortnite Creative? Or a new social network?
- Competition: Roblox and Fortnite have already connected millions of young users and creators to their platforms. For a new platform to compete with these giants, it needs not only good technology but also a very large user base.
- The MindsEye factor: Many players were more interested in the MindsEye game within Everywhere than in the Everywhere platform itself. The company’s focus shifted directly from Everywhere to the MindsEye project. This project was initially intended to promote Everywhere. BARB searched for a publishing partner for MindsEye and eventually signed a deal with IO Interactive, the creator of the Hitman games.
Many employees blame Leslie Benzies for BARB’s current difficult situation. The Rockstar veteran was highly successful at attracting investment for the studio thanks to his previous achievements, including a $110 million cash investment at the beginning of 2024. However, employees say he struggled to delegate responsibility, and that the game’s concept was so complicated that almost nothing was clear.
During the final months of MindsEye’s development, developers were asked to add new features that would attract Benzies’ attention. BARB’s Jira even had a separate task category for Leslie Benzies’ ideas. These tasks always had to be prioritized, regardless of how workable they were.
If management had focused on finishing everything without errors, the game could have worked smoothly, but instead, they kept adding more things on top of it - Ben Newbo (the company’s former chief data analyst)
Investor Pressure and Time
Like any company funded by venture capital (VC), BARB is also required to deliver results. Investors expected substantial returns. The layoffs show that the studio is trying to move from a phase of "unlimited spending" to one focused on "efficiency."
Conclusion
Whether Build A Rocket Boy can save itself will depend on the first large-scale user feedback for Everywhere. Although Leslie Benzies’ past successes have earned him a certain degree of credit and trust, today’s gaming market is not the same as the market in 2013, the year GTA V was released.
Now, the studio must find not only technical excellence but also a reason for players to remain on the platform. The layoffs may be a painful but necessary step taken to ensure the company’s survival. But one thing is certain: the "eat, drink, cover myself, and sleep" period is over for Build A Rocket Boy. Now it is time for real work and real results.
