MindsEye Laid-Off Developers Protest BARB Over Alleged Paid Playtest Day
MindsEye developers who say they were dismissed by BARB are planning a protest outside the studio’s offices, framing the action as a response to what they describe as an “all-expenses-paid playtest day” for fans.
Protest details outside BARB’s Edinburgh office
The IWGB Game Workers Union—also the union tied to the case involving the fired developers behind GTA 6—said the demonstration will be held outside Build a Rocket Boy’s Edinburgh, Scotland location on Saturday, July 11, with activities scheduled for 11:00 a.m. local time.
In its complaint, the union alleges that BARB will bring players into the studio this weekend so they can test new MindsEye features. The union also said the company’s decision to pay for the event is meant to be a flashpoint, given the layoffs that have affected workers over the past year.
BARB has not publicly responded in the material provided, though IGN said it reached out to the company for comment.
Why the union says it’s protesting
The IWGB claims the protest is aimed at BARB’s choice to fund the playtest while workers deal with the fallout from recent job cuts and ongoing tensions between staff and leadership. The union’s wider allegations include:
- Mass layoffs carried out over the last year
- Disagreements between employees and the company tied to claims of intrusive workplace monitoring
- Concerns about union blacklisting
- Criticism of how redundancies were handled
The union told IGN it expects about 20 people to attend, including laid-off BARB employees and supporters. It also stated that the planned protest is not expected to include current BARB staff.
Blacklisted update backlash follows a rough release
At-risk redundancy emails after launch
This protest lands amid another wave of controversy around MindsEye, after a rocky launch last year. In July, IGN reported that BARB sent redundancy-at-risk emails to its then roughly 300-person UK workforce following a poor reception for the game at launch.
After the release, BARB said it was “heartbroken” by the problems players encountered. The studio promised a sequence of patches intended to address major performance issues, glitches, and bugs related to AI behavior.
Where MindsEye’s original pitch fits in
MindsEye, described as a story-driven action adventure, was initially planned as part of Everywhere—the “Roblox for adults” creation platform associated with former Grand Theft Auto design lead Leslie Benzies. Eventually, BARB shifted its focus toward MindsEye, but the company has not been able to achieve the business results it needed, based on how events have played out since launch.
Relapse narrative from Benzies and “criminal activity” claims
After the game came out, Benzies reportedly told staff that the studio would recover and relaunch MindsEye. He attributed the title’s struggles to internal and external sabotage, among other factors.
CEO Mark Gerhard later said the team was investigating what he called “criminal activity” connected to the period around the game’s release.
The “Blacklisted” relaunch attempt didn’t gain traction
BARB then tried to restart MindsEye using an update it referred to as “Blacklisted,” but the union’s materials say the effort failed to significantly improve outcomes.
While player counts on consoles weren’t available, Steam performance data showed a 24-hour peak concurrent figure of just 48 players.
Take-Two leadership comments add context
In May, Strauss Zelnick—head of Rockstar’s parent company Take-Two—offered remarks that sounded like a broad reflection on how difficult it has become to deliver blockbuster hits in a mature entertainment market.
“Making hits seems to get harder and harder and harder as entertainment industries mature,” Zelnick said during the TD Cowen 54th Annual Technology, Media & Telecom Conference.
He continued by noting that Rockstar appears capable of producing large-scale hits, while many others—including former Rockstar employees—have tried and struggled.
Zelnick also stressed that this doesn’t mean future success is impossible. “Doesn’t mean they can’t in the future, by the way,” he added. “We’re always running scared. But it won’t be technology that changes the game. What’ll change is that some extraordinarily creative individual or individuals will show up and do something astonishing. Our goal is to get those people to work within the Take-Two system. If we fail to do that, we fail.”
