MindsEye studio's paid fan playtest sparks protest from laid-off workers
Developers staged a protest over the weekend outside the Edinburgh offices of Build A Rocket Boy, the studio behind the game MindsEye. According to reports from VGC, Rock Paper Shotgun, and Push Square, the action was in response to the studio hosting an all-expenses-paid fan playtest event.
The IWGB union, which organized the protest with former staff, called the move a major slap in the face. Per the union's chair, quoted by Rock Paper Shotgun, the lavish event was "a kick in the teeth for the fired workers who are seeing fans brought in to do jobs that would otherwise have been theirs."
The studio faces criticism for funding what the IWGB labeled an "extravagant" event while simultaneously conducting mass layoffs, creating a stark contrast that has ignited employee backlash.
