Independent gaming industry coverage by Mercer

Build a Rocket Boy Layoffs: MindsEye Studio Cuts 170 Jobs

Build a Rocket Boy has laid off 170 employees in its third round of cuts in twelve months, leaving just 80 people at a studio that once had 250. MindsEye sits at 11 concurrent players on Steam and generated roughly $10 million against a £233 million investment. Co-CEO Mark Gerhard continues to blame corporate sabotage.

MercerMay 6, 2026

Deep Dive

Google Quietly Installed a 4GB AI Model in Chrome Without Asking

Chrome secretly installed a 4GB Gemini Nano AI model on hundreds of millions of devices between April 20-29, 2026, with no notification or opt-in. The model generates storage, bandwidth, and CPU costs for users while the main AI feature still routes queries to Google's servers, raising serious privacy and legal concerns.

MercerMay 6, 2026

Deep Dive

Utah SB 73 VPN Law: What It Means and Why It Won't Work

Utah's SB 73 VPN law holds websites liable for users masking location—but enforcement may be technically impossible. Here's how it works, why experts like the EFF are raising concerns, and who it actually impacts.

MercerMay 3, 2026

Independent gaming industry coverage by Mercer

Build a Rocket Boy Layoffs: MindsEye Studio Cuts 170 Jobs

Google Quietly Installed a 4GB AI Model in Chrome Without Asking

Utah SB 73 VPN Law: What It Means and Why It Won't Work

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Build a Rocket Boy Layoffs: MindsEye Studio Cuts 170 Jobs

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