3w ago

MindsEye Developer Build a Rocket Boy Begins Layoff Process Amid Disastrous Launch, Studio Sources Say

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MindsEye Developer Build A Rocket Boy Begins Layoff Process Amid Disastrous Launch, Studio Sources Say - IGN

Who could've possibly seen this coming?

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Co-CEO Mark Gerhard had hit the headlines ahead of MindsEye's launch for claiming there was a "concerted effort" by some to "trash the game and the studio," suggesting people were being paid or using spam bots to post negative comments.
The people who made the decisions which led them to this troubled state do not understand or accept that they are the reason hundreds are going to lose their jobs. "Paid actors" seems to be the big push back against criticism but no one knows how much these jobs pay or where to find one. I want to make some money for not buying crap!
- I am seeing more and more of these "review bomb" takes lately, too. Dragon Age Veilguard getting review bombed because their game is too woke. Moon Studios saying they might have to close because trolls are review bombing their new game. Monster Hunter Wilds being review bombed on Steam because entitled PC gamers expect their games to be stable, I guess.
  Too many people out there are deflecting legitimate criticism in favor of what are basically conspiracy theories—that there must be a concerted effort to specifically punish these developers in particular for the crime of releasing a misunderstood masterpiece. No one wants to accept the possibility that they just put out a bad game.
- I mean, I'm sure these jobs exist, social media manipulation is neither new or difficult. They're probably outsourced to India or somewhere though.
  But it's a bit of a pathetic excuse for bad managers to use to cover their failing. I think they should have some sort of evidence before they start squawking about it.
  
  Outsourcing is such a pre-AI mentality. Why have foreign loose ends that don't speak the language well and give off amateurish vibes when a few computers and some AI credits will do it faster, better, and cheaper?
- It's even more funny, or sad really, given that most of these studios are paying people to promote these games, without any of the legally required disclosures of course.
  Those incongruously positive opinions disappearing after a few days is totally normal and definitely not because they were only being paid for a 1 week window around the launch of the game.
You know it is bad when the devs have to stop streamers before they play it.
- Wait what happened?
  
  They cancelled all sponsored streams a short while after launch.
  Cancelled one for CohCarnage as it was starting or had just started, he immediately launches another game and doesn't look back.
I don't get why they write an article and then play a Mario kart ad over half my screen. I'm not clicking to close their ads I'm clicking back to leave the site.
Just wanted to know if the lead designers, project managers, etc. were being fired or if it's just the people who carry out their visions being axed. I can guess the answer though.
- No info on that, but apparently firing over a 100 people (out of 300 or so people)
  One person, who asked to remain anonymous in order to protect their career, told IGN there’s no word yet on exactly how many staff are affected, but the standard 45-day consultation process starts today, June 23, which according to UK law is triggered when an employer proposes 100 or more redundancies within a 90-day period. IGN understands Build A Rocket Boy currently has around 300 UK employees, with around 200 abroad.
How the hell do they even have 100 employees to fire? The game is basically a UE5 demo project.

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