Grand Theft Auto made him a legend. His latest game was a disaster — What went wrong
Quick summary
- Who: Leslie Benzies — former Rockstar/Grand Theft Auto lead. 1
- What: Build A Rocket Boy’s debut game, MindsEye, released June 10, 2025 and received mostly negative reviews for bugs, poor performance and design. 2
- Impact: Widespread refunds, public developer complaints and mass layoffs followed the launch. 3
- Controversy: Studio leadership has alleged bot-driven smear campaigns while critics and outlets called the release one of 2025’s worst. 4
The rise: how GTA turned a developer into a legend
In the 2000s and 2010s, As, the teams behind Rockstar’s big open-world titles helped define blockbuster gaming. Benzies played a leading role in producing multiple entries in the Grand Theft Auto franchise, which built his reputation as a creator of massive, narrative-driven open worlds. That legacy is the backdrop for the high expectations that followed him into his new studio. 5
The fall: a debut that faltered
MindsEye launched in June 2025 as a cinematic, single-player action experience. Instead of the polished comeback many hoped for, critics and players reported frequent crashes, performance problems, jarring bugs and mission design that felt unfinished — a combination that sank early impressions and review scores. Several outlets and aggregators placed the game near the bottom of 2025 rankings in the weeks after release. 6
Why the launch struggled
- Technical instability: widespread reports of crashes, frame-rate issues and broken mission scripts made the game feel unpolished. 7
- Design mismatch: reviewers described a gameplay loop that failed to deliver the kind of satisfying systems players expect from AAA open-world titles. 8
- High expectations + price point: the game launched priced as a premium release, amplifying disappointment when core systems faltered. 9
Consequences inside the studio
The commercial and critical backlash had immediate internal consequences. Reports detail mass redundancies and an open letter from dozens of current and former employees calling out poor communication and alleged mismanagement in the wake of the launch. That kind of fallout shows how quickly public failure can translate to internal crisis. 10
Leadership response and the ‘saboteurs’ claim
Studio leadership disputed some of the public narrative — alleging coordinated negative campaigns and bot activity were inflating the appearance of hostility toward the game. Independent reporting and industry voices, however, have largely pointed to production decisions and a game that shipped before it was ready as the primary drivers of the backlash. The mixed responses have only deepened the controversy. 11
Lessons for developers and players
The MindsEye episode offers several clear lessons:
- Reputation doesn’t guarantee product quality: even well-known creators need rigorous QA and realistic timelines.
- Transparency matters: unclear communication around layoffs, fixes and roadmaps deepens distrust among staff and customers. 12
- Post-launch fixes aren’t a substitute for polish: players are increasingly unwilling to pay premium prices for promises of future patches. 13
Where things stand now
Nevertheless, The studio has discussed relaunch plans and patches, while conversations about refunds and reputational damage continue. Specifically, For Benzies, the episode is an important chapter: a reminder that past achievements — even those that helped define an industry — don’t insulate anyone from the consequences of a poorly executed release. 14
Want to stay updated?
Follow our gaming desk for ongoing coverage of MindsEye, Build A Rocket Boy and the wider fallout — we’ll track patches, official statements and developer responses as they arrive.
