MindsEye studio Build A Rocket Boy files for administration

Well, that didn’t take long. Last week we reported that Build A Rocket Boy had seemingly let go of almost its entire staff. Now it’s official: the studio has filed for administration with the UK Companies House.

What administration actually means for Build A Rocket Boy

Administration is a legal process companies use when they can’t pay their debts. It’s meant to protect the business from creditors while someone tries to sort out the mess, or in plain terms, it buys time. Opus Advisory Group has been brought in to handle the process.

Companies House says a “viable business” can sometimes be rescued through administration. I wouldn’t bet on it here. Given the reports of mass layoffs just last week, this looks less like a rescue mission and more like the final chapter.

There’s still a chance Build A Rocket Boy gets sold off, which could bring in fresh cash, but it’d come at the cost of the studio’s independence. Whether anyone’s lining up to buy it is another question entirely.

For context, Build A Rocket Boy launched MindsEye last year after months of hype branding it a “GTA killer.” It ended up killing itself instead: broken tech, flat gameplay, nothing memorable. Rather than fixing the game, founder and ex-Rockstar North president Leslie Benzies blamed saboteurs, both inside and outside the studio, for the failure. A re-release later in the year didn’t change much either.

Turns out you can’t blame your way out of a bad launch. Who knew.

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