Former ‘Grand Theft Auto’ producer’s studio announces layoffs

Build A Rocket Boy, the studio founded by Grand Theft Auto producer Leslie Benzies and fellow Rockstar alumni Matthew Smith and Colin Entwistle, has had to let go of a number of employees across three locations.

A statement has been supplied to PCGamesN from the studio following the publication’s report that an undisclosed number of roles were removed in art, quality assurance and publishing.

“While we have made great progress developing our products, we are now in a position where we need to make changes to the way we work across our business in order to become a more agile studio and to meet the requirements that our projects demand,” it said.

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‘Everywhere’ Credit: Build a Rocket Boy

“To achieve that and refocus, we have taken the extremely difficult decision to propose the removal of a number of roles globally. This process is ongoing and we are working with those impacted at this difficult and challenging time.”

Build A Rocket Boy is based in Edinburgh and has two other studios in Budapest and Montpellier. According to its website, almost 300 employees represent 32 countries from around the world, and the company assures that it has a “strong” and “supportive” remote working culture.

Build A Rocket Boy is presently working on two titles: Everywhere and Mindseye. The first is intended to be a hive of user-generated content for a variety of games developed by its players.

“I hear one thing constantly: this is the biggest project we’ve ever worked on. I believe it, in addition to the employee that grinned while saying it’s been ‘a fucking nightmare’ to pull all of the pieces together,” said Jake Tucker in his preview of Everywhere.

In other gaming news, PowerWash Simulator‘s Warhammer 40,000 downloadable content will launch at the end of the month, adding the iconic Ultramarines Land Raider, Astra Militarum Rogal Dorn Tank, and more.