Highguard staying online despite layoffs at Wildlight, with ‘core group’ of devs left for support
Highguard studio Wildlight Entertainment has confirmed it has undergone a round of layoffs - but has stressed a "core group" of developers are staying to support the game.
Highguard will remain online despite layoffs at developer Wildlight Entertainment, with a “core group” of staff retained to continue supporting the live-service shooter.
Just weeks after launch, the studio confirmed to Eurogamer it had “made an incredibly difficult decision to part ways with a number of our team members while keeping a core group of developers to continue innovating on and supporting the game”.
Wildlight did not disclose how many employees were affected, but social media posts from staff suggest the cuts impacted a significant portion of the team.
Level designer Alex Graner wrote that he was laid off “along with most of the team,” adding there was “a lot of unreleased content” he had hoped players would see.
Meanwhile, tech artist Josh Sobel described the studio as “the best team I’ve ever worked with,” saying he was “devastated” the group would no longer continue together in full.
Highguard launched earlier this year following its reveal at The Game Awards, drawing attention due to Wildlight’s pedigree, which includes former developers from Titanfall and Apex Legends.
The free-to-play PvP raid shooter saw a strong influx of players at release, though it also faced criticism over map scale, pacing, and its original 3v3 format.
In response, Wildlight rolled out patches and updates, including making its limited-time 5v5 mode permanent in an effort to address player feedback.
While the future scope of content remains unclear, the studio said it is “proud of the team, talent, and the product” it created, and thanked players who continue to support the game.
For now, Highguard’s servers will stay live, but under a much smaller team steering its next steps.
