"Wildlight Entertainment, the studio behind Highguard, has laid off many staffers. Level designer Alex Graner wrote in a LinkedIn post that the layoffs impacted "most of the team." The company says it's keeping a "core group of developers to continue innovating on and supporting the game." That sounds like a skeleton crew. Highguard is an arena shooter with an impressive pedigree. The team included many Apex Legends and Titanfall developers."
"The title was first announced as a "one more thing" surprise during the 2025 Game Awards, which was met with a lukewarm response by those looking for something a bit more exciting to close out the show. The game was released at the end of January, but the response to the final game was also a bit tepid. However, Wildlight proved quick to make adjustments based on player feedback. That's not always the case."
"Despite the company's efforts, the concurrent player count on Steam quickly dropped from around 100,000 to under 3,000 (where it sits right now.) It looks like that dwindling player count has now translated to massive layoffs just weeks after the initial release. Wildlight says it's "grateful for players who gave the game a shot, and those who continue to be a part of our community.""
Wildlight Entertainment laid off many staffers, with level designer Alex Graner saying the layoffs impacted most of the team. The company retained a core group of developers to continue innovating on and supporting Highguard, implying a skeleton crew. Highguard is an arena shooter developed largely by former Apex Legends and Titanfall developers and was announced as a surprise during the 2025 Game Awards. The game launched at the end of January but received tepid responses and saw rapid drop in concurrent Steam players from around 100,000 to under 3,000. Despite quick adjustments based on player feedback, the dwindling player count translated into massive layoffs.
Read at Engadget
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]