Build A Rocket Boy confirms layoffs weeks after raising $110 million

Scottish studio Build A Rocket Boy (BARB) raised $110 million just over four weeks ago. Now, the company is laying off an unknown number of staff.

A small number of people impacted by the layoffs shared the news on Linkedin before a BARB spokesperson confirmed the story in a statement sent to Game Developer.

"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," they said.  

"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."

It's unclear how many people have been laid off, although one Linkedin post indicates that at least eight members of the studio's player services team have been placed "at risk of redundancy."

Build a Rocket Boy building Everywhere

The news comes with Build A Rocket Boy, which was founded by former Rockstar North president Leslie Benzies, attempting to build a new game creation platform called Everywhere.

BARB has expanded significantly in recent years and currently has 300 employees working across studios in Edinburgh, Montpellier, and Budapest. The company also offers a number of remote working opportunities.

Despite confirming the layoffs, BARB is still advertising a number of open positions on its website, including a variety of roles across all three of its offices. 

BARB joins a rapidly expanding list of companies to have made layoffs in 2024, as the wave of cuts that decimated the industry in 2023 continues to wreak havoc on a global scale.

Game Developer has reached out to BARB for more information.