The ‘Worst Game of 2025’ and a Hunt for Saboteurs
It was supposed to be a triumphant return. Leslie Benzies, one of the key architects behind the legendary Grand Theft Auto series, was launching the first game from his new studio, Build a Rocket Boy. But just three weeks after the sci-fi adventure MindsEye hit shelves in June 2025, it was being universally panned as “broken,” “buggy,” and “the worst game of 2025.” Instead of a victory lap, Benzies held a company-wide meeting where he announced a hunt for “saboteurs” he claimed were trying to undermine the game from within. According to a shocking new report from the BBC, the employees knew the truth: there was no conspiracy. The game’s failure was a predictable disaster born from months of mismanagement and chaos.
A Culture of Chaos
Former and current employees painted a grim picture of the studio’s culture. In an open letter signed by 93 staff members, they accused leadership of ignoring expert advice and making erratic, “knee-jerk” decisions. One of the most disruptive practices was the implementation of what staff called “Leslie tickets.” Benzies would play the game, spot something he didn’t like, and create a high-priority ticket that developers had to drop everything to fix. These tasks could range from minor visual tweaks to removing entire missions, creating constant instability and preventing teams from ever taking ownership of their work.
One former producer, Margherita Peloso, told the BBC that attempts to raise concerns were often “laughed at” by superiors. It was a top-down management style where feedback from the people actually building the game was consistently disregarded.
The Unpaid Crunch to a Broken Launch
As the June 2025 release date loomed, the studio implemented a period of mandatory “crunch.” Most staff were forced to work an extra eight hours of unpaid overtime every week from February to May. This grueling schedule led to burnout, stress, and an increase in mistakes. Bugs that one team fixed would be accidentally reintroduced by another exhausted team. Morale plummeted as developers burned the candle at both ends for a game they knew was in a terrible state.
Despite this, the studio held a champagne toast on launch day. But the celebration was short-lived. Since review copies weren’t sent out, the first impressions came from players who bought the game, and they were brutal. Performance was abysmal, and social media was flooded with clips of game-breaking bugs, including one infamous glitch where a character’s face appeared to melt. The game currently holds a Metacritic score as low as 28, making it one of the worst-reviewed titles in recent memory.
The Aftermath: Layoffs and Legal Action
The fallout was swift. Between 250 and 300 employees were laid off, the majority from the studio’s main office in Edinburgh. The Game Workers Branch of the Workers of Britain union, which helped release the open letter, announced it would pursue legal action against Build a Rocket Boy for its “disastrous mishandling” of the redundancy process.
In a statement, the studio’s leadership accepted “full responsibility for the initial launch of MindsEye,” admitting it did not reflect the experience players deserved. However, for the hundreds of developers who lost their jobs and the players who bought a broken game, those words offer little comfort. The story of MindsEye is a cautionary tale of how vision and ambition can crumble under the weight of poor leadership and a toxic work culture.
FAQs
What is MindsEye?
MindsEye is a sci-fi adventure game released in June 2025 by developer Build a Rocket Boy. It was widely criticized at launch for being full of bugs and performance issues, earning the label “the worst game of 2025” from many critics and players.
Who is Leslie Benzies?
Leslie Benzies is the head of Build a Rocket Boy and a former president of Rockstar North, famous for his leading role in producing the Grand Theft Auto series.
What were the main problems during development?
According to a BBC report, employees cited a chaotic work environment, poor leadership that ignored expert feedback, disruptive “Leslie tickets” that derailed progress, and a grueling period of mandatory, unpaid overtime (crunch).
What did the studio boss blame for the failure?
In a company-wide meeting after the failed launch, Leslie Benzies reportedly claimed that “internal and external saboteurs” were to blame for the game’s problems, a claim that employees did not believe.
What happened after the game’s launch?
Following the disastrous launch and overwhelmingly negative reviews, the studio laid off between 250 and 300 employees. A workers’ union is now planning legal action over the handling of the layoffs.
Has the studio taken responsibility?
In an official statement, studio leadership accepted “full responsibility” for the state of the game at launch and promised to continue fixing it. However, many former employees remain skeptical about the game’s ability to recover.
Conclusion
The story of MindsEye is a stark reminder that a legendary name is no guarantee of success. The detailed report from the BBC reveals a project doomed not by saboteurs, but by a failure of leadership. While the studio pledges to fix the game, the human cost is already high, with hundreds of jobs lost and a significant blow dealt to the Scottish game development scene. It highlights a troubling, recurring pattern in the AAA industry: a clash between top-down creative control and the practical realities of game development, often ending with burned-out developers and broken promises to players.