Wildlight Entertainment Axes “Most Of The Team” Behind ‘Highguard’ Less Than A Month After Launch
As definitive of a move as any when it comes to solidifying the ill-fated hero shooter’s popular reputation as ‘Concord 2.0′, Widlight Entertainment has officially cut back on their Highguard operations – and in doing so laid off most of their studio dev team.
Already on the backfoot with players after Wildlight Entertainment entered into a month-long radio silence following the game’s initial reveal at The Game Awards 2026, Highguard failed to help itself by the time of its January 26th release for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC platforms, with many players finding the game to be not outright terrible, but really just boring.
Mashing up every popular mechanic from recent years including active resource mining (à la Fortnite), MOBA-style lane running (à la League of Legends), and purchasable between-round upgrades (à la Counter-Strike/2), the game was simply too empty, tedious, and – perhaps worst of all – plain to really find an audience in a world filled with Marvel Rivals, Fortnite, and even Minecraft.
Hell, as I noted during my playtime on the Bounding Into Comics YouTube channel, the best part about the game is its flawless mount-riding mechanic – and it’s derived from Paladins!
And though Wildlight Entertainment CEO Dusty Welch previously boasted of the team’s “resilience” in the face of its initial negative reception, it seems their spirits could not weather their economic realities, thus leading the team to pull the plug on almost the entirety of their operation.
RELATED: ‘Highguard’ Is Getting Torched By Bad Reviews, Steam Rating Plummets
But rather than an official announcement, the news was broken to the public courtesy of Wildlight Entertainment’s now-former Highguard level designer Alex Graner, who on the morning of February 11th informed his LinkedIn followers that “Unfortunately, along with most of the team at Wildlight, I was laid off today.”
“This one really stings as there was a lot of unreleased content I was really looking forward to that I and others designed for Highguard,” said Garner. “However, I’m excited for my next adventure. If your team or anyone you know needs an experienced Level Designer, hit me up!”
Shortly thereafter, with the news making the rounds on social media, the remaining Wildlight Entertainment team finally provided a statement on their decision to Kotaku, therein declaring “Today we 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.”
“We’re proud of the team, talent, and the product we’ve created together. We’re also grateful for players who gave the game a shot, and those who continue to be a part of our community.”
Ultimately, what lies ahead for Highguard – or, more realistically, how long it will last in ‘skeleton crew’ mode before being totally shut down – remains to be seen.
For now, the game is still live and, for those with a morbid curiosity, available to play free-of-charge.
