MindsEye developers take legal action against studio

Employees at MindsEye developer Build A Rocket Boy have taken legal action against the company over alleged breaches of privacy and employment law. The case comes amid claims that invasive surveillance software called Teramind was installed on staff work devices.

Details of the case

On 12 April 2026, legal claims were filed alleging improper handling of a dismissal process. In June 2025, as many as 300 Build A Rocket Boy employees were laid off, and according to the legal documents, those redundancies led to the illegal blacklisting of former staff. These are now central issues in the case.

In March 2026, 40 workers signed a collective complaint expressing their dissatisfaction with how the company had been run. That complaint followed a meeting led by co-CEO Mark Gerhard, during which he said Ritual Network, a YouTube and TikTok agency, was responsible for "sabotaging" MindsEye.

Teramind installation

The claims allege that Teramind was installed on employee devices without their knowledge or consent. The software was designed to monitor worker productivity and the company’s overall security. However, the IWGB (Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain) says the software represented a serious invasion of employee privacy, potentially capturing not only work activity but also personal data.

According to the IWGB, Build A Rocket Boy has since removed the software, but the company has not met other demands from affected workers for transparency and accountability. The union has criticised the lack of explanation over what data was collected, how it was used, and why the software was installed in the first place.

Related legal action and next steps

The IWGB says it will escalate the matter through the UK’s Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service and the Information Commissioner’s Office. If the case succeeds, it could cost Build A Rocket Boy millions. That would add to the company’s existing legal exposure over the handling of the layoffs.

Developments around Build A Rocket Boy and the MindsEye developers continue to unfold, with major implications for the people involved and for working conditions across the games industry.