Grand Theft Auto made him a legend. His latest game was a disaster

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Build a Rocket Boy

In July this year workers at Build a Rocket Boy, a video game studio in Edinburgh, were called to an all-staff meeting. Their first ever game, a sci-fi adventure called MindsEye, had been released three weeks earlier - and it had been a total disaster. Critics and players called it "broken", "buggy", and "the worst game of 2025". Addressing staff via video link, the company's boss, Leslie Benzies, assured them there was a plan to get things back on track and said the negativity they'd seen was "uncalled for". Then he pivoted, alleging "internal and external" forces had been working to scupper the MindsEye launch. He told the assembled workers - who'd been informed they faced redundancy just a week earlier - there would be an effort to root out "saboteurs" within the company. "I find it disgusting that anyone could sit amongst us, behave like this and continue to work here," he said, according to a transcript of the meeting verified by BBC Newsbeat. Staff who worked at the studio say they were stunned - and not only by the strength of the language. They simply didn't believe him. As far as they were concerned, there was no conspiracy - and the reasons for MindsEye's failure were clear.

Getty Images Leslie Benzies presented the Best Game award at 2025's Bafta Game Awards

Mr Benzies is well-known for his work at Rockstar Games where he was a senior figure on the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) action-adventure series, and regarded by many as a key architect of its success.