Build a rocket boy Suited for use by Teramind monitoring on employee devices

Build A Rocket Boy is facing further legal action, as workers are now going after the studio for allegedly surveilling them at home.

MindsEye studio is accused of installing employee monitoring software, Teramind, on workers' devices without their knowledge. These devices were then used in the employees' homes and could have monitored everything from their keyboard inputs to microphone sounds. Because of this, Build A Rocket Boy is accused of violating data laws and the “fundamental dignity” of workers.

Build a Rocket Boy faces second employee-led lawsuit, this time over invasive employee surveillance software

Mindseye protagonist walks through a door in a bulletproof vest.

This lawsuit is being led by Build A Rocket Boy employees, in cooperation with the IWGB Game Workers Union. This is the second lawsuit initiated by the workers and the union, with the first relating to the redundancies following the failure of MindsEye.

Now the parties are targeting the studio for its use of Teramind. Earlier this year, Gamesindustry.biz reported that employees had become aware that the software was being used after their devices started slowing down. In a video call seen by both Gamesindustry.biz and Insider Gaming, co-CEO Mark Gerhard admitted that Teramind was used.

“I think it goes without saying that we can trust 99.9 percent of this business,” Gerhard is quoted as saying. “The problem is that it's one percent. That's the problem.”

Now, this software is at the center of a new lawsuit, in which the IWGB says that the use of Teramind amounts to “recording individuals in their homes and without their consent.”

“Build A Rocket Boy's toxic culture of secrecy and micromanagement is one of the worst I've seen in a 20-year career in the games industry,” said Chris Wilson, lead cinematic animator at Build A Rocket Boy. “Although they have agreed to our main demand to remove Teramind from our devices, many questions about their actions still remain.

“It can only be assumed [that] this software was added as part of their efforts to micromanage us, a product of their distrust of their employees. It created an atmosphere of anxiety, something that doesn't lead to good video game production.”

“Build A Rocket Boy's toxic culture of secrecy and micromanagement is one of the worst I've seen” – Chris Wilson, lead film animator

Spring McParlin Jones, president of the IWGB Game Workers Branch, also commented on this development: “Having borne the brunt of Mark and Leslie's paranoia, these workers stood up for each other and stood up to bullies in management, forcing them to answer for their actions and get rid of Teramind.”

Build A Rocket Boy has been contacted for comment.

Recent developments have hardly been promising for the studio. It has separated from IOI Partners, meaning it now handles publishing duties on its own. Gerhard also gave a bizarre interview earlier this month saying the so-called “sabotage” against the studio will lead to arrests.