Build A Rocket Boy, the Edinburgh games studio behind MindsEye, has gone into administration, the BBC has reported.
Companies House lists the company, whose registered office is in Leith, as “In Administration”. A filing recording the appointment of an administrator was lodged on 25 September, although the document itself had not yet been made available to view.
The studio, known as Barb, was set up in 2016 by Leslie Benzies, a former senior developer on Grand Theft Auto at Rockstar Games. Companies House records show it was incorporated on 6 June that year.
According to BBC Newsbeat, Barb first worked on Everywhere, planned as a multiplayer role-playing game in a futuristic city, before switching to the action-adventure title MindsEye. The BBC said company documents showed the studio had raised over £233m from investors by 2024.
MindsEye came out in June 2025 and was met with poor reviews and player complaints. The BBC reported that between 250 and 300 staff lost their jobs after the launch, and that subsequent fixes and content updates had not built a bigger audience for the game. Following further job cuts, reports earlier in September suggested the studio’s remaining staff had also been let go, the BBC added.
Barb’s latest accounts, covering the period to September 2025, showed a loss of £36.2m and net assets of £10.5m, according to the BBC. Companies House shows those group accounts were filed on 6 July 2026.
In a statement previously released in response to questions from BBC Newsbeat, Barb said: “Leslie and the entire senior management team take full responsibility for the initial launch [of MindsEye]. The version of the game that was released did not reflect the experience our community deserved.”
The BBC said it had contacted Barb for a response.
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Administration can result in the sale of a business or its closure. While an administrator from an accountancy firm is in control and a restructuring plan is prepared, payments to creditors are frozen, the BBC explained.
