Overview
- Multiple Build a Rocket Boy staff posted on LinkedIn on Wednesday that their roles are ending and the studio’s HR lead said he will stay to “see BARB through till the very end.”
- Kotaku and other outlets, citing employee posts and sources familiar with the situation, report the studio is permanently winding down but BARB has not issued an official statement in response to requests for comment.
- The closure follows a year of turmoil that included almost 100 developers signing an open letter alleging mismanagement, several rounds of layoffs, and legal claims by some former staff.
- Workers and union filings have alleged unlawful device monitoring and crunch at the studio, and the IWGB Games Workers Union has pledged solidarity and said it will pursue justice for affected employees.
- The shutdown follows MindsEye’s troubled June 2025 launch and the earlier withdrawal of IOI Partners as publisher, and it leaves hundreds of employees looking for new jobs while raising industry questions about rapid studio growth and workplace oversight.