Build A Rocket Boy Management Face Legal Action From Staff Alleging Surveillance Software Violated Their Data Privacy
Publish Date: 2026-04-22 07:37:00
Source Domain: www.psu.com
A number of employees at Build A Rocket Boy, the developer behind last year’s critically-mauled MindsEye, have started legal proceedings against management, who are alleged to have installed software known as Teramind on work devices and failing to inform staff on what data was being collected.
The staff who are taking legal action against the company are represented by IWGB Game Workers Union, and claim that management at Build A Rocket Boy failed to disclose what data was collected from the employees and how it was stored. It notes that the software itself was removed last month after a collective grievance against the studio was signed by 40 staff members.
The official website for Teramind states that the software, which is powered by AI, “enables proactive protection against insider threats, data breaches, productivity inefficiencies, and compliance challenges.”
Speaking in a statement regarding the legal action being taken against Build A Rocket Boy management, the IWGB Workers Union stated it “alleges that BARB’s use of the software violates both data protection laws and the workforce’s basic dignity, exceeding the legitimate remit of monitoring workers’ productivity or safeguarding the company’s security by recording individuals in their homes and without their consent.”
In an internal meeting which was leaked to the press, bosses Mark Gerhard and Leslie Benzies confirmed that the software Teramind had been installed without workers’ knowledge. The programme tracks users’ key strokes, records screen activity and captures microphone audio.
MindsEye launched in June 2025 for PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S, but was met with overwhelming criticism due to its various bugs and poor performance. Various patches were released in the coming months in an attempt to fix some of the game’s more egregious problems, and in March the studio would suffer another round of layoffs.
Last month, it was confirmed that Build A Rocket Boy had ended its…
