MindsEye has been an unmitigated disaster for developer Build A Rocket Boy, and somehow, the whole situation just got even worse.
Following on from a wave of layoffs and reports that roughly 300 employees' jobs were at risk, the project's management — specifically ex-GTA producer Leslie Benzies and co-CEO Mark Gerhard — is now being accused of "longstanding disrespect and mistreatment" by staff both past and present.
An open letter posted on Game Workers paints a predictably damning picture of what working on MindsEye was like. It basically states that the development process was a mess, with management shifting priorities on whim while any criticism was promptly shut down.
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The letter goes on to list several key points of contention: "Lack of transparency and communication", "unbearable levels of overtime", and "disastrous handling of redundancies".
Signed by close to 100 workers, the letter summarises: "Our experience at the company has been one of burnout, job insecurity, health issues, and the failure of a game that many of us have put years of our lives into."
And to finish, the letter lists off some demands, which include a public apology, support for remaining employees, a documented effort to improve working conditions at the company, and a better redundancy process.
Back in July, there were whispers of Build A Rocket Boy's plans to essentially re-release MindsEye as part of a "redemption arc". However, we've heard little to nothing on that front since, and with the arrival of this open letter, we doubt that things are going at all smoothly behind the scenes.
What's your take on this whole MindsEye saga? Feel free to simply shake your head in the comments section below.